Shadow of a Doubt
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Being the chief of a super secret organization takes skill, patients, and rock solid nerves. But all these are put to the test when an old enemy of Big D's comes into the picture. Have even the Impossibles met their match?
1. Flashback

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I should warn you ahead of time, this story is a bit more intense than some of my previous Impossibles stories, but it doesn't get intense until later chapters. In any case, The Impossibles, Big D, The Spinner, Televisitron, Cronella Critch, and the Infamous Mr. Instant belong to Hanna-Barbera. Anyone else you encounter is my own creation. Big D's real name is also my own creation, because the original cartoon never gave mention of it.

* * *

_

It was a late night at the wharf. A group of crooks were sitting around a table in an old shack, dividing up the loot from their latest heist. The ringleader of the group was a mysterious man dressed completely in black. Nobody could see his face. He was known only as The Shadow, and nobody knew his identity.

"Pretty good haul, eh, boss?" one of the Shadow's henchmen asked.

"Yes, it was," the Shadow said. "But it's only a trifle, compared to what's coming up."

"What's coming up?" another henchman asked.

"I'm intending on taking over the world," the Shadow said. "But we first need to take out the Secret Security Headquarters, first. And to do so, we must eliminate their chief."

"How do we do that?" the first henchman asked. "You know that chief of the SSHQ ain't easy to get to."

"We'll have to plan this carefully," the Shadow said. "But we'll do it. Once the chief falls, the rest of the agency will crumble!"

The Shadow began to laugh maniacally, until a gunshot rang out, and a bullet was shot right into the window. The door suddenly flew open, and there stood a man with brown hair, possibly in his mid-thirties. He held up a gun and aimed it at the group.

"Freeze!" he shouted. "You're all under arrest!"

"Aw crud," one of the Shadow's henchmen groaned.

"Agent Dawson," the Shadow said, standing up. "Why must you and the SSHQ always show up at the worst possible times?"

"It's part of my job," Agent Dawson said, as other agents from the Secret Security Headquarters came into the old shack. "Now, Shadow, are you going to come along quietly, or am I going to have to get rough?"

"You'll never catch me, Dawson!" the Shadow shouted. "Get 'em, boys!"

The Shadow's henchmen charged the SSHQ agents with knives, pistols, and tommy guns. Some of the agents began firing their own guns. Agent Dawson used another tactic. He was a black belt in karate. He began taking the Shadow's henchmen out with his karate moves, and threw in some jujitsu in as well, giving the Shadow's henchmen a thourough clock cleaning. He was about to do the same to the Shadow, but he had disappeared through a trap door some time before.

"You may have won this round, Dawson!" he shouted from a motorboat underneath the shack, and he was already speeding away. "But you haven't bested me yet!"

"Enjoy freedom while you can, Shadow!" Agent Dawson shouted. "Mark my words, I'll get you!"

The Shadow disappeared into the night. Agent Dawson just let him go for the moment. As the SSHQ agents were rounding up the Shadow's henchmen, the chief of the agency, known only as C, came onto the scene.

"Exceptional work, Agent Dawson," he said. "No wonder you're the SSHQ's top agent!"

"Thank you, sir," Agent Dawson replied, saluting his superior. "I'm just sorry the Shadow got away again."

"Don't worry about the Shadow, Davis," C said, using Agent Dawson's first name. "One day, he'll slip up, and we'll be ready for him."

Two years passed. C had called an assembly of the Secret Security Headquarters to make a very important announcement.

"Men," he said (at the time, the SSHQ agents were all men, and the only woman there was Hazel, who was C's secretary).

"As you know, I am planning on retiring as the chief of the Secret Security Headquarters in two years," C said. "And I will have to name my successor. I have decided to name Agent Davis Philip Dawson as my successor."

Several agents began applauding and cheering as Agent Dawson stood up. He was very well-liked at the agency. Everyone knew he'd become chief one day. As the agents were all applauding, a gunshot was heard from the auditorium door, and C suddenly collapsed. A lot of the rookie agents began panicking. Agent Dawson remained calm, and looked toward the doors. A shadowy figure was running from the scene. It was none other than The Shadow, and Agent Dawson knew it.

"Stop that Shadow!" he ordered. Another agent, Tim Reilly, pushed a button on the wall immediately, which caused an alarm to sound, and the entire facility to lock all doors and windows.

"Drat it!" the Shadow shouted, as he skidded to a halt in front of the titanium steel alloy that blocked the door.

"We've got you now, Shadow," Agent Dawson said, and the Shadow was immediately taken to the facility's holding cells. Once the Shadow was taken care of, Agent Dawson ran back to the auditorium, but it was secured off by the SSHQ medical team.

"What's the status on the chief, Tim?" he asked.

"Not so good, Dave," Agent Reilly said. "Dr. Cranston's looking at the damage now. No one except the medical team is allowed in."

Agent Dawson nodded, and he and Agent Reilly decided to wait it out. It was about all they could do. About an hour later, Dr. Cranston approached the two agents, with a grim look on his face.

"By the look on your face, doc, is it safe to say it's bad?" Agent Reilly asked.

"I'm afraid so," Dr. Cranston said. "Looks like you'll be taking over the agency sooner than you anticipated, Dawson."

Agent Dawson just nodded, knowing that being an agent for a super secret organization meant being ready for anything, and he certainly was. Agent Reilly had to admit C made the right choice. He knew Agent Dawson was a rock when it came to potential crises.

Within the following week, Agent Dawson was inducted as chief of the agency (now going by Big D), and the Shadow was being tried on murder charges (among other things). He was convicted, and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

"You haven't won, yet, Dawson," the Shadow said as he was being escorted out of the court room. "You're making the biggest mistake of your life by locking _me_ up!"

"I'm afraid _you're_ the one who's made the mistake, Shadow," Big D said. "I don't know how in the world you thought you could get away with sneaking into the agency like you did."

The Shadow said nothing, and allowed himself to be locked up, with the key thrown away.

Another three years had gone by. The Shadow was still in jail, but he had a plan on getting out. Late one night, a guard was making his rounds when he passed the Shadow's cell. It appeared to be empty.

"Okay, Shadow, come on out so I can see ya," the guard said. There was no answer. The guard then took his keyring off his belt and looked closely into the cell. It didn't look like anyone was inside.

"You ain't foolin' me one minute, Shadow!" the guard shouted. "I know you're in there! Don't think you can make me think you got outta there! I know you're hiding in the shadows in the cell!"

There was still no answer. The guard didn't even hear the Shadow breathing. Finally, he decided to open the cell door, and investigate. He didn't see anyone, or anything.

"He's gotta be in here somewhere," he said, as he turned around to leave the cell. "I just don't see how in the world he could've . . . . "

Suddenly, the guard was grabbed from behind, and a chloroformed soaked rag was pressed over his nose and mouth. He was unconscious in a matter of seconds. Then, he was dragged into the shadows of the cell. The Shadow snickered, bound and gagged the guard, and then simply walked out of the cell. He knew the rest of the guards would find out about his escape in the morning, but he would be long gone by then.

"I'd better lay low for awhile," he said. "It will give me more time to plan an adequate revenge against Dawson."

The Shadow ran to the wharf then, and hopped into a rowboat. Then, he cast off, planning on rowing as far away as he possibly could.

"I'll get you, Dawson," he said as he rowed. "You'll get what's coming to you. You won't know how, and you won't know when. But it's coming."


	2. The Time Has Come

Our story opens now in present day Megatropolis, at the Secret Security Headquarters building. It had been over twenty years since the Shadow broke out of prison. The Shadow just seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. For the first few years after the murder of the former chief, Big D had been on the lookout for him. He refused to let his guard down. But, as time passed, things happened. Big D was faced with a new threat, a group of gangsters known as The Syndicate, headed by the notorious mob boss, Antonio "Big Tony" Manikatti. Big D had spent most of his career as chief of the SSHQ trying to bring Big Tony to justice.

In between hunting Manikatti and waiting for the Shadow to return, Big D had also seen the birth of his son, Jackson Davis (before they married, Big D's wife was named Georgianne Jackson). Sixteen years later, Big D welcomed a new edition to his family, his daughter, Phyllis Marie (named after Big D's middle name; her middle name was chosen because it sounded good). Though questions were raised as to the sixteen year age difference between Jack and Phyllis, Big D never answered them.

Things ended up changing in Big D's life after the birth of his daughter. Big D was becoming more involved with the Syndicate, and less involved with The Shadow. His son, Jack, joined the SSHQ at age eighteen. The year after that, Big D lost his wife, thanks to the Syndicate. They were engaged in a gun fight with a rival mob, and several innocent bystanders (including Georgianne Dawson) had been killed. Two years after that, the Syndicate had gunned down Jack in cold blood. Big D was furious and focused his attention on bringing the Syndicate to justice. And to make sure he didn't lose his darling daughter to the mob boss, he sent her to a boarding school in Switzerland, until she was sixteen. Upon returning to Megatropolis, she enrolled in the public high school, graduated, and became Big D's secretary. In time, Big D forgot about the Shadow completely, even after the Syndicate folded, due to a recent struggle, which left Big Tony Manikatti pushing up daisies.

(_And we also don't need to go into great detail over what eventually happened to Big Tony Manikatti. Just go and read my story "Family Secrets" for a refresher course_)

On this particular afternoon, Big D was sitting in his office, going over some files. As he was doing this, a fly flew in from the open window, and buzzed around the chief's head a bit. Big D merely waved it away, not turning his attention away from the files. The fly then planted itself on Big D's wall, and stayed there for the time being. Big D put away all the files, except one, and pushed a button on his intercom.

"Phyllis, are the Impossibles in today?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Phyllis said. She was very careful never to call Big D "Dad" at the agency. "Do you need to see them?"

"Not all of them. Send Agent Fluid in here."

"Yes, sir."

Big D then stood up from his desk, and closed the window. He didn't notice that fly was still on the wall, as he sat back down behind his desk. A few minutes later, Fluey came into the office.

"Hiya, boss," he said. "What's happening?"

"Have a seat, Fluid," Big D said.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Fluey asked, sitting down on the couch in his superior's office.

"No. I just need to have a talk with you."

"About what?"

"Your family history."

"Oh. Well . . . . . what about it? You don't think someone other than Phyllis, Multi, and Coiley found out you're my grandfather, do you?"

"No. Not at all. But I do need to speak with you over the issue of your guardianship."

"Well, you know, I go back and forth between your place and my Aunt Tillie's. But I mostly still live with Aunt Tillie. I only stay with you and Phyllis when I know I can get over there without arousing suspicion. Like you've said before, chief, if anyone found out Phyllis is your daughter, and I'm your grandson, it could spell potential disaster."

"Yes, I know. I'm aware of that. I just wanted to make sure you still had an arrangement with Ms. Templeton. Just in case something should happen to either me, or, heaven forbid, Phyllis."

"In other words, you want to make sure I'll have someone to fall back on just in case you or Phyllis should . . . . ."

"Exactly. I know you don't like to be referred to as a child, Fluid, but technically, until you turn eighteen, you are still one. I know you're very capable of taking care of yourself, and you know I wouldn't have you, or Coil or Multi go into a situation where I didn't think you could handle it."

"Just out of curiosity, chief, are you expecting something to happen?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to make sure, that's all. I was thinking about what happened to your father, and I certainly don't want the same thing to happen to you, or Phyllis. Believe me, Fluid, there is nothing worse for a parent than losing a child. Or a grandchild, for that matter."

"Yeah. And for a kid to lose a parent, or a grandparent, is pretty rough, too."

Big D nodded, knowing Fluey was thinking about his adopted parents, who had been killed in a car accident when he was only three years old. He didn't discover the true identity of his birth parents until recently, and ended up getting the shock of his life when he found out his birth father was Big D's son. Though he wasn't sure if that was the bigger shocker, or if finding out his birth mother was Big Tony Manikatti's daughter.

Fluey then stood up and left Big D's office. Big D went back to work. That fly on the wall flew out the office door, and out of the agency all together. After leaving the agency, it flew down toward the busy streets of Megatropolis, and straight into a dark, shadowy alley, where it landed on the awaiting palm of a shadowy figure. The fly wasn't a real insect at all. It was a tiny spy camera that happened to look like a common, every day housefly. It was so realistic looking, no one would guess it was a video camera in disguise. All anyone had to do was turn it on, give it the location they wanted it to go, and wait for it to gather it's information and come back. The shadowy figure then took his fly camera to the docks, and ducked underneath them, where he had a video apparatus set up to view what he caught on his fly camera.

Late that night, at a maximum security prison, sat the criminal mastermind, the Infamous Mr. Instant, was being held, after he had tried to steal the Radium Radar Pellet, only to end up captured by the Impossibles. The authorities had also confiscated his Instant Item Gun, so he would be unable to make his escape. So he was stuck just sitting there in his cell, thinking about making an escape. But without his Instant Item Gun, he was useless.

As Mr. Instant sat there, he heard something tapping underneath the cell. He got up, and began investigating the source of the tapping, and it started to get louder and louder, until the concrete floor in the cell cracked, and the crack turned into a small hole. Out from the hole came a package wrapped in brown paper and string. There was also an envelope attached. Mr. Instant unwrapped the package, and found his Instant Item Gun in a box. Then he opened the envelope, which contained a single note reading,

_The time has come. Meet me at the docks at midnight._

And that was all. It wasn't signed. Mr. Instant merely shrugged, dialed something onto his Instant Item Gun, and fired at the wall. A door appeared, and he merely walked out of his cell.

Elsewhere, in another maximum security prison, another villain the Impossibles had once tangled with (twice, in fact), the Spinner, was sitting around, doing nothing in his cell. He wished he had his spiderweb gun so he could use it to tie up the prison guard, swipe his keys, and make an escape. But the authorities had taken it from him, when he was arrested. However, he heard something underneath the floor. After several minutes of chipping, a hole appeared, and a box and envelope came up out of the hole. Inside the box was the Spinner's spiderweb gun. He took it, and then opened the envelope. It was the same message that Mr. Instant had received. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the Spinner snickered, took his spiderweb gun, aimed at him, and fired. The guard suddenly found himself cocooned in spiderwebbing. The Spinner dragged the web cocoon over to his cell, took the guard's keys, unlocked the cell, locked the cocoon in, and raced out of the prison as fast as he could.

At another prison, located just outside of Megatropolis, was Televisitron, another foe the Impossibles had captured. As he sat in his cell, he heard a strange chiseling noise coming from the floor, until a hole opened up, and an envelope came out of it. Televisitron opened the note, which said the same thing as the ones delivered to Mr. Instant and the Spinner. The hole became bigger, and another note was delivered:

_Use this tunnel to escape. I didn't have time to find your remote control._

That was all Televisitron needed to know, and he dove into the hole in his cell floor.

Finally, at a local Megatropolis animal shelter, another one of the Impossibles old foes, Cronella Critch, the Tricky Witch, sat. She had been taken to an animal shelter because she had been turned into a cat. She was fuming at the Impossibles. She had a real grudge against Fluey, considering her daughter, Danalleah, had fallen head over heels in love with him. Cronella wanted to get out of the cage she was in, and scratch his eyes out with her cat claws. As she sat there, contemplating her seven year sentence as a cat, the lights suddenly went out, and the door to her cage opened. Cronella immediately jumped out. She wasn't about to let this golden opportunity pass by! But the minute she jumped out of her cage, a paper airplane flew in through a nearby window, and landed at her paws. Cronella picked it up, and read it. It had the same message as the other notes sent to the other three criminals. Immediately, Cronella jumped out of the open window, and raced down the street toward the docks. It was almost midnight.

At the docks, the four escapees from the prisons met, all a little shocked to see each other.

"What are the three of you doing here?" Cronella asked. "I thought those Impossibles locked you up and threw away the keys!"

"They did, but we got out, what's it look like?" the Spinner said. "What I want to know is who sent those notes!"

"I did," a voice said from the shadows. The four crooks turned to look toward the shadow, and saw a shadowy figure approach them.

"Welcome, my friends," he said. "I am the Shadow. I was the one who retrieved your weapons and broke you out of your prisons."

"If you retrieved their weapons," Televisitron said, "then how come you weren't able to recover _my_ remote control?!"

"Those imbeciles at the Secret Security Headquarters laboratory must have taken it apart and used it in some gadget or another," the Shadow said. "I suppose you four are wondering what you're doing here."

"The thought _had_ crossed my mind," Mr. Instant said.

"It's simple, really," the Shadow said. "I want to see the Secret Security Headquarters fold. I'm sure their chief has forgotten all about me by now. After all, it's been twenty years since we last met. I've been hiding out abroad since then, waiting to come back when I was sure Big D had let his guard down. I have a plan that will destroy the Secret Security Headquarters for good."

"And how do _we_ fit into this?" the Spinner asked.

"I need you to help me," the Shadow said. "I've been reading up on the SSHQ for awhile. Here's what I want you to do."

The Shadow got the four crooks into a huddle and whispered his plan to them. The crooks agreed to it. After all, they had a lot to gain. If the Secret Security Headquarters fell, that meant no more Impossibles. And no more Impossibles meant they could go on the wildest crime spree imaginable. The Shadow snickered and rubbed his hands together, gleefully.

"Oh yes, Dawson," he said. "The time has come!"


	3. Vacation

The next day, the SSHQ mailroom was bustling with activity. Shawn Smith, Frances Quinn (FG to her friends), and Danalleah Critch were busy sorting through the mail that had just come in. They separated it into two piles. One pile was for the agent's and Big D's mail. The other pile was the singing Impossibles' fan mail. As well as being the Impossibles' girlfriends, the three teenage girls also sorted through the mail.

"Who's turn is it to run the chief's mail up?" FG asked as she began dividing up the agent's mail by last name.

"Mine," Shawn said as she took a stack of envelopes. Big D didn't have a box in the mail center like the other agents. His mail was brought directly to his office.

As Danalleah and FG began taking the rest of the mail to the agent's mail boxes, Shawn took Big D's mail, and headed for the elevator. She rode it to the top floor, and greeted Phyllis, who was hard at work on her typewriter.

"Hi, Phyllis," she said.

"Good morning, Shawn," Phyllis said, not even looking up from her typewriter. "Go right in."

"Thanks," Shawn said, and she walked through the door that lead to Big D's office.

"Good morning, sir," she said. "Here's the mail."

"Very good," Big D said, taking the stack of mail from Shawn. Then he handed her some envelopes to be mailed out. Once Shawn left, Big D started to go through his mail. One envelope in particular caught his attention. It just had "Big D" written on it. No stamp, no return address, no nothing. Big D opened it, and took the letter out to read it.

_The Time Has Come_

That was all it said. As Big D pondered the mysterious message, his phone rang. He immediately picked it up.

"Yes?" he asked. "The Infamous Mr. Instant has escaped? I'll get right on it."

Big D hung up, and the phone rang again. This time, Big D was alerted that the Spinner had escaped from prison. The phone rang a third time. The third caller told him Televisitron had escaped from prison. The minute he hung up, the phone rang once more. It was the pound telling him Cronella Critch had escaped.

"This is not good," Big D said, once he hung up, and he began tuning his communications console to Coiley's guitar.

The Impossibles, in the meantime, were cruising around in the Impossi-Mobile, when Coiley's guitar suddenly began beeping. Coiley pushed a button on the back of the neck to activate the TV screen.

"Impossibles reporting for duty, Big D!" he shouted with a salute.

"Be on the lookout for the Infamous Mr. Instant, the Spinner, Televisitron, and Cronella Critch," Big D said. "I've just received word that they have escaped from prison."

"Oh brother, not Cronella Critch again!" Fluey groaned. "I've just about had it with her!"

"Well, we don't have much choice," Multi said, shrugging. "Time to go into the quick change, fellas."

"Right!" Coiley shouted.

In a flash of psychedelic colors, the singing Impossibles converted to the superhero Impossibles, and their car had converted to Impossi-Jet. They figured it would be easier trying to find the escaped criminals from the air. They weren't sure exactly what to expect with this assignment, but they sure never expected what they eventually found! An alarm at a bank began going off nearby, and the Impossibles went for it, thinking it was one of the escaped crooks.

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" Multi shouted as he glanced down at the bank's entrance. "All four of them in the same place!"

"What are the odds of that?" Coiley asked.

"I say we split this up," Fluey said.

"Good idea," Coiley said. "I'll take Mr. Instant."

"I'll handle the Spinner," Fluey said.

"And I'll take Televisitron, and Skittles can take Cronella," Multi said. The others agreed. Multi's puppy, Skittles, barked three times, back-flipped, and turned into her identity as Impossi-Pup. Then, Multi landed the Impossi-Jet and our heroes faced the four crooks.

"Hold it right there!" Coiley shouted. "You aren't going anywhere but back to prison!"

"We knew you'd show up sooner or later," Mr. Instant said, and he began dialing something on his gun. "How about an instant anvil, Coil Man?!"

Mr. Instant fired his gun, and a large anvil appeared over Coiley's head, and crashed down on him. Mr. Instant began to laugh maniacally, until he heard Coiley groaning from underneath the anvil. Coiley then sprang up, and the anvil was hurled skyward.

"Look out!" Multi shouted, as the anvil came falling. Everyone ducked out of the way and the anvil crashed to the ground, causing the pavement to crack a bit.

"Everybody scatter!" Cronella shouted, and the four crooks took off in four different directions.

"After them!" Coiley shouted.

"Rally ho!" the super trio yelled, and they, along with Impossi-Pup, went off after the villains.

The Spinner was running along, and he looked over his shoulder, and found Fluid Man was right behind him.

"All right, Fluid Man, come and get me!" he shouted.

"Don't worry, I will!" Fluey shouted, and he went into a partial liquid conversion with his fist outstretched.

"Rally ho-ho!" he shouted.

"Won't you come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly!" the Spinner shouted, and he fired his web gun several times at Fluey, causing him to become entangled in some extra sticky spider silk.

"Got some new webbing for that gun of yours, huh?" he asked. "You know this won't hold me for long."

"It's not supposed to," the Spinner said, as he just stood there and twirled his gun around. Fluey thought that was a little strange. He figured, since he was caught up in the spider web, the Spinner would try to make a break for it. Fluey was just about to go into a conversion to escape the spider silk, when a shadowy hand suddenly clamped over his mouth. He was so surprised at the sudden attack, he didn't even _think_ about going into a conversion.

"Excellent work, Spinner," a mysterious shadowy figure said. "Now, go help the others take care of his friends, and we'll meet at the wharf."

"Right, boss," the Spinner said with a laugh.

However, the abduction wasn't going to go unnoticed. Having lost Cronella during a typical dog and cat chase, Impossi-Pup had started sniffing around for her, when she caught sight of the shadowy kidnapper heading for an alley with Fluey, who was struggling and squirming, trying to get out of this character's grip. The Shadow had an iron tight grip, making it impossible (no pun intended) for Fluey to convert to liquid. Impossi-Pup growled, revved up, and shot forward toward the Shadow and the Spinner, giving the spider-like creature a good, hard, chomp right in the seat of his pants.

"YEOW!" the Spinner shouted. The Shadow turned toward the spider villain, loosening his grip on his captive. Immediately, Fluey converted into liquid, and propelled himself away from the two villains for the time being. Impossi-Pup let go of the Spinner, and zoomed over to Fluey.

"Atta girl, Impossi-Pup!" Fluey shouted, kneeling down to pet the super pup.

"Since when do they have a dog?!" the Spinner asked, as he massaged his sore behind.

"Since now, Spinner!" Fluey shouted. "Sic 'em, Impossi-Pup!"

"Yipe!" the Spinner shouted, and he began running as Impossi-Pup growled at him. The Shadow saw the look in the little crime-biter's eyes, and decided to retreat as well.

"Come on, Skittles," Fluey said. "Coiley and Multi might need some back up!"

Impossi-Pup barked, and she and Fluey ran toward Coiley and Multi, who were doing pretty well with Televisitron and Mr. Instant. But Impossi-Pup revved up and charged for Televisitron, anyway. He was busy firing a regular gun at Multi's duplicates. Multi was starting to tire out from this.

"Doesn't that thing ever run out of bullets?" he asked.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Televisitron laughed, until he felt a painful sensation on his rump.

CHOMP!

"YEOOUUUUCH!" Televisitron shouted, dropping his gun. Fluey converted to liquid, streamed over, and socked the criminal in the stomach.

"Rally ho-ho!" he shouted.

"Nice work, you two," Multi said, as Impossi-Pup trotted over to the two boys. "Come on, let's go get Mr. Instant!"

"Rally ho!" both Multi and Fluey shouted, as they ran for the Infamous Mr. Instant.

"Stand still so I can eliminate you!" Mr. Instant shouted at Coiley, who was bouncing around, both trying to avoid being hit by an instant item Mr. Instant could dial up, and to drive the criminal crazy.

Mr. Instant was about to dial something on his gun, when suddenly . . . . .

CHOMP!

"YOW!" he shouted. He looked over his shoulder and saw a small puppy in a super suit hanging onto his rear end by her teeth. She let go, and began growling at him.

"Why you little . . . ." Mr. Instant started.

"Forget them!" Cronella shouted. "We're outnumbered! Let's get out of here!"

And with that, Mr. Instant and Cronella ran off to join the others. Impossi-Pup just gave them a growl, as if to say, "you'd better think twice before messing with _my_ boys again!"

"Come on, fellas," Coiley said. "We'd better report to the chief."

Multi and Fluey agreed, and the foursome went back to the Impossi-Jet to head back to HQ.

Meanwhile at the wharf, the four criminals were watching the Shadow, not saying anything. The Shadow was just drumming his fingers against the table, thinking.

"You're not mad, are you?" Televisitron asked.

"No," the Shadow said. "So he got away. No big deal. They'll probably report the incident to their chief."

"That could be trouble," Mr. Instant said.

"No, it'll work to our advantage," the Shadow said, taking out his fly camera. "I know how the mind of their chief works. I've been matching wits with him before those three were even born!"

"I still say we should go after that blond typewriter jockey," the Spinner said. "She might be easier to catch."

"But she rarely leaves that building," Cronella said.

"It doesn't matter," the Shadow said. "We'll wait them out. Once we have the information we need thanks to the fly camera, we'll be able to get what we need."

The Shadow let his fly camera loose, and it buzzed for the Secret Security Headquarters building. It flew through an open door, and made it's way to Big D's office. Phyllis and the Impossibles were already there. The boys were telling the chief what had happened, and Phyllis was taking notes on the meeting.

"I had the Spinner cornered, chief," Fluey said, as he told Big D his part of the story. "And all of a sudden, he shoots this sticky web on me, and he just stands there. I figured that was a little weird. So I was gonna convert to get out of that sticky situation, when suddenly, I'm grabbed by this shadowy figure and . . . . ."

"Shadowy figure?" Big D repeated, giving Fluey an odd look.

"Yeah, he was gonna drag me toward this dark alley," Fluey said. "His grip was so strong, I couldn't convert. Thank goodness Impossi-Pup got his attention by giving the Spinner a good chomp."

Big D didn't say anything, but that mystery message he had received in the mail made sense now. And he suddenly remembered the Shadow _was_ still at large. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about that murderer for so long. He had a feeling the Shadow somehow found out about his little family secret. He had to think fast.

"What should we do, chief?" Multi asked.

"Drop it," Big D said. "Drop the case completely. I'll put some other agents on it."

"But, why, chief?" Coiley asked. "We've handled the Spinner, Mr. Instant, Televisitron and Cronella Critch before."

"You boys have been working much too hard," Big D said. "I'd say you're overdue for a much deserved vacation."

"But with those criminals still at large . . . ." Phyllis started, but Big D silenced her with a glare for the moment.

"Send for Miss Smith, Miss Quinn, and Miss Critch, Phyllis," he said.

"Yes, sir," Phyllis said, and she went out to her desk toward the loudspeaker and called Shawn, FG, and Danalleah to his office.

"You wanted to see us, chief?" FG asked.

"I did," Big D replied. "Miss Smith, I would like you to fill in as my secretary indefinitely. Miss Quinn, I need you to be on call as Fluid Girl at all times as of now until I say otherwise. Miss Critch, I need you to assist Fluid Girl whenever she is called upon, and I will need you to be on call as well. When you two are not on an assignment, you will resume your duties in the mail room."

"What's this all about, Big D?" Danalleah asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," Big D said (lying through his teeth). "I'm sending Phyllis and the boys on vacation. A _long_ vacation."

"How long?" Multi asked.

"I will contact you when you can return to work," Big D said. "Although for this vacation, I must make a request from you boys."

"What's that?" Coiley asked.

"I can not allow the three of you to take this vacation together," Big D said.

"Why not?" Multi asked.

"Never mind," Big D said. "Phyllis, I want you and Fluid to stay together at all times, and I want the two of you to leave Megatropolis at once. Get as far out of town as you can, immediately, if not sooner."

"But why, chief?" Fluey asked. "I don't understand."

"You'll just have to trust me, Fluid," Big D said.

And that was all Big D said in that regard. He dismissed the group, and they all walked to the outer office.

"That was really weird," Danalleah said.

"I've never known the chief to do something like _that_ before," Phyllis replied. "But it's his orders."

The others nodded. They sure didn't want to go against the chief's orders, that was for sure, even if they didn't understand them. Phyllis then called a friend of hers, Daisy DuVall. They had been friends since high school. Daisy had called earlier in the week to ask Phyllis if she'd like to come spend a couple of days at a cabin the DuValls owned out of town. Phyllis had declined, saying her schedule was too full, but since Big D had told her and Fluey to get out of town for the time being, she figured spending a couple of days with Daisy would be the best option.

"Hi, Daisy, it's me," she said on the phone. "Is the invitation for camping out at your family's cabin still open? My schedule cleared up a bit. Great! Oh, would you mind if I brought my nephew along? He's sixteen. He won't be any trouble, I swear. Okay. Pick us up at my place in an hour. Thanks, Daisy. Bye."

"Looks like we're settled," Fluey said.

"Right," Phyllis said. "But Daisy doesn't know a thing about me and the SSHQ. When I introduced her to my dad, he told her he was an insurance agent. She knows about Jack, but she doesn't know he was also an agent."

"Gotcha," Fluey said. Then he and Phyllis went out to the SSHQ parking garage, climbed into Phyllis's pink convertible, and drove off, all with the fly camera following them.

One hour later, at Phyllis's house, a yellow dune buggy drove up. It was being driven by a girl, about twenty-one years old, with very light blond hair, blue eyes, and a deep tan. She wore a yellow blouse with long bell sleeves and trimmed with a white floral braid and a pink bow, matching yellow bell bottoms, yellow pilgrim style shoes, and dark pink round sunglasses. Both the blouse and the pants were made out of a pleated fabric. Fluey thought she looked a bit like Malibu Barbie.

"Hi!" she called out, waving.

"Hi!" Phyllis shouted, as she and Fluey climbed into the dune buggy. "Daisy, I'd like you to meet my nephew, Franky. Franky, this is my best friend since forever, Daisy."

"Hi, Franky," Daisy said. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," Fluey said.

"I never knew your brother had a kid, Phyl," Daisy said. "I mean, you've told me about him and all . . . ."

"Believe me, Daisy, I didn't know it myself," Phyllis said. "Come on, let's go."

Daisy nodded, and put her dune buggy into gear, and the trio was off. Nobody noticed they were being followed by a fly.

Once Fluey and the two girls reached the cabin, Phyllis went into one of the bedrooms to change her clothes.

"Just make yourself at home, Franky," Daisy said. Fluey just nodded and sat down on the couch, trying to think of why in the world Big D would separate the Impossibles on a vacation, and why he sent him and Phyllis out of town in the first place. As he thought about it, Phyllis came out of the bedroom, and Fluey practically did a double take.

"Wow!" he shouted. "You sure look different outside the office!"

Phyllis didn't say anything. She knew Fluey was used to seeing her in a yellow sweater set, wool skirt, black hose, and black pumps. Now she was wearing a silver and blue lame sheath dress with a metallic silver and orange belt, square orange dangle earrings, silver go-go boots with orange stripes at the top, and an orange scarf tied in her hair.

"I like to kick back and put on something more comfortable when I'm not at the office," she explained. "In any case, just sit back and relax. If Daddy's giving us a vacation, we should enjoy it. No matter how strange the circumstances behind it may seem."

Fluey nodded, but he just couldn't seem to relax. He wanted to know what was up. Any other time the chief had given the Impossibles a vacation, they were allowed to take it together. How come they weren't this time?

_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Daisy is based on my 2009 reproduction Malibu Barbie doll, and her outfit is based on Barbie's Lemon Kick outfit (a reproduction of this outfit came with the reproduction doll). Phyllis's outfit is based on the 1968 Barbie outfit, Zokko! which came with the 2009 reproduction Twist 'n Turn Barbie._


	4. Capture

Hours passed, and Fluey still couldn't figure out what the heck Big D was up to. And he was wracking his brains out over it. He had never known the chief to just have the Impossibles drop a case like that! It just wasn't like Big D.

"Hey," Daisy said, walking over, and sitting down next to Fluey. "You've been sitting on that couch for two hours now. Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing," Fluey said. He didn't necessarily want to tell Daisy just exactly what he was thinking about, if she didn't know about Phyllis's job at the SSHQ.

"Two hours is a long time to be sitting and thinking about nothing," Daisy pointed out.

"Yeah, well . . . ."

Before Fluey could go on, he heard a car pull up outside. He quickly got up, looked out the window, and gasped.

"Holy Mesopotamia!" he shouted.

"What's wrong?" Daisy asked, as she stood up, and walked to the window herself. Phyllis followed.

"Uh oh . . . . ." Phyllis said, nervously.

"Aren't those the crooks that escaped from jail the other night?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah," Phyllis said.

"But what are they doing here?" Fluey asked.

"Maybe they're looking for a place to hide out from the law," Daisy suggested.

Phyllis and Fluey glanced at each other, and said nothing. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"We know you're in there!" the Spinner shouted. "It'll be a lot easier on you if you give up now!"

"What in the world is he _talk_ing about?" Daisy asked, shooting Phyllis and Fluey a confused look.

"I dunno," Fluey said, shrugging and playing dumb.

"Now are you going to come out?" the Spinner asked again. "Or do we have to come in?!"

Without saying a word, Fluey, Phyllis, and Daisy began backing away from the door, nervously. The three of them heard the criminals trying to get it open.

"How heavy is the lock on the front door?" Phyllis asked.

"Pretty heavy," Daisy said. "It'll take them awhile to break through it. They won't be able to break the door down, either. It's pretty heavy, itself!"

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and a hole was blown through the door. Fluey and the girls ducked to avoid getting hit with flying splinters.

"This doesn't look good," Phyllis commented.

"You're so right," Televisitron said.

But Fluey had something up his sleeve. He took a couple of steps back, jumped, and gave Televisitron one heck of a kick, karate style, right in the stomach.

"Gaaakkkhhhh!" Televisitron groaned. Before he had a chance to recover, Fluey gave him a karate chop to the side of the neck.

"Hiyah!" he shouted.

"Let's get out of here!" Daisy shouted, and she and Phyllis began running.

"Oh no you don't, ladies!" the Spinner shouted, firing his gun at the girls. It was still loaded with that super sticky spider webbing. Both of them got caught up in it.

"Eeee_uuuuuuuu_www!" Daisy grimaced. She couldn't stand spiders, or spiderwebs. The Spinner merely laughed and continued shooting the spider silk at the girls, until they were completely cocooned in it. Not only was this stuff super sticky, but it was also super strong. It was going to take awhile before the girls could get out of there.

"Hang on, girls!" Fluey shouted, pulling his transformer out of his pocket. "I'll get you out of there!"

"Oh no you won't!" Cronella shouted, and she jumped right into Fluey's chest as hard as she could. The force of the kick sent Fluey crashing to the floor, causing his transformer to go flying.

"Hey!" he shouted. Cronella then cackled, and gave Fluey a swipe to the face with her claws, resulting in a nasty looking scratch.

"Ow!" he shouted.

"We've got him now," Televisitron said, as he and the Spinner grabbed Fluey by the arms and pulled him to his feet. Fluey groaned, and struggled to break out of their grip.

"You've had this coming a long time, Fluid Man," Mr. Instant said with an evil laugh. He pulled his fist back, and gave Fluey a good, hard punch in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of him.

"Oooh!" Fluey moaned. Televisitron let go of the dark-haired Impossible's arm, and the Spinner held him upright.

"I've been waiting for ages to do this," Televisitron laughed, and he gave Fluey a hard uppercut to the jaw, leaving the teenager seeing stars. The Spinner laughed, and passed the dazed hero over to Mr. Instant.

"I believe I owe you some lumps from our last encounter," he said, giving Fluey a good punch in the nose as hard as he could. That last punch ended up knocking Fluey out, and he crashed to the floor like an old rag doll once Mr. Instant let go of him.

"Come on, boys," Cronella said, using her claws to loosen Fluey's wrist communicator. Once she got it off, she threw it across the room. "Let's get going!"

The Spinner then fired some of his webbing out of his gun, and used it to bind Fluey's wrists and ankles. Then Mr. Instant hoisted the unconscious teenager over his shoulder, and the four crooks started to leave the cabin.

"What about Blondie?" Televisitron asked.

"What about her?" Mr. Instant said. "She can't do anything to us in that cocoon, and the boss only needs one of the two of them, anyway."

And with that, the four villains left, cackling madly. Phyllis and Daisy had heard everything, and Phyllis was fuming.

"We have to find a way out of here!" she shouted.

"Did they call Franky what I think they called him?" Daisy asked.

"They did," Phyllis said, grabbing a piece of the webbing and pulling at it.

"Then that would mean he's one of . . . ."

"Yes, he's one of the Impossibles. And I work for the Secret Security Headquarters. I'm a secretary there. And my dad's the chief."

"Wow! How come you never told me?"

"Because my dad swore me to secrecy. He doesn't want too many people to know I'm his daughter, and Fluey's his grandson. And once he finds out I told you, he's gonna kill me."

"Oh, I won't tell anyone, Phyllis, I swear!"

"Okay. Now help me get out of this cocoon. I've got to call my dad!"

The two girls began pulling and tugging at the spiderweb cocoon until they managed to tear a hole in it. Once they were out, Phyllis ran to her purse, and pulled out her compact communicator. She opened it, and pushed a couple of buttons inside.

"Phyllis calling Big D," she said. "Urgent. Repeat, urgent!"

"Big D here," the chief replied, coming in on his own communications console. "And you'd better have a good reason for this call, young lady. I explained I would call you and the boys when I was ready for you to come back to work, not the other way around."

"I know, I know," Phyllis said. "But somehow or another, Mr. Instant, the Spinner, Televisitron, and Cronella Critch showed up here at Daisy's cabin."

"They _what_?! Of all the . . . . . . oh never mind. Are you and Fluid all right?"

"Well . . . . . yes and no."

"Now what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm fine, but I think those crooks took Fluey with them. Daisy and I ended up wrapped up in the Spinner's spiderwebs, so we didn't exactly _see_ them but we heard some fighting going on."

Big D groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned away from his console for a moment, and pounded on his desk with his fist in frustration.

"Phyllis, return to headquarters at once," he ordered. "I'll contact the other two."

"Yes, sir," Phyllis said, and she sighed off.

Big D then tuned his console to Coiley's guitar first, and then Multi's, and told them to get to HQ, and his office, PDQ. While Big D waited for them, he got up, and began pacing his office, muttering under his breath.

"How they found out so quickly, I don't know," he mumbled.

After awhile, Coiley, Multi, and Phyllis returned to HQ, and prepared themselves for Big D not to be in a good mood. And they were right.

"We're here, chief," Multi said. "How do you want us to handle this?"

"I'm still thinking about that issue," Big D said. "And I'm still trying to figure out how in the world they discovered your location so quickly, Phyllis."

"Maybe they managed to plant a bug or something," Phyllis suggested.

"But how could they without someone noticing?" Multi asked.

No one had an answer for that, at least not until Coiley suddenly smacked the palm of his hand against Big D's desk, startling everyone.

_WHACK!_

"And _what_, may I ask, was _that_ for, Coil?" Big D asked, looking a little perturbed.

"Sorry, chief," Coiley said, a bit sheepishly. "But there was a fly buzzing around and it was starting to drive me crazy."

"Wait a minute," Multi said, getting a closer look at the squashed bug on the desk. "Since when do house flies come with crackling wires?"

"_What_?!" Big D shouted, and he got a closer look at the smashed insect himself. "Phyllis, get Johnson in here immediately!"

Phyllis ran out to the outer office and called in Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Johnson, the head of the science and technology foundation. He came a few moments later and investigated the bug himself.

"No doubt about it, Big D," he said. "This is definitely a miniature spy camera. Or at least it was until Coiley smashed it."

"So _that's_ it," Big D grumbled. "We've been bugged."

"I'll bet anything that thing followed me and Fluey to Daisy's cabin," Phyllis said.

"And it probably was around at one point when we were talking about . . . ." Coiley started, before Multi clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Sssshhhh!" he hissed. "Ix-nay on-hay ig-bay ee-day's amily-fay ecret-say! Eggie-ray is-hay ill-stay in-hay the-hay oom-ray!"

"Sorry, I forgot," Coiley said, pushing Multi's hand off.

"In all due respect, chief, when you told us to drop this case and sent us on vacation," Multi said, "you shouldn't have split us up."

"Yeah, no offense, Big D," Coiley said. "But that was a pretty dumb decision."

"I know," Big D said. "I thought it would be safer this way. I didn't want you boys, or Phyllis, getting involved with this."

"With what Da---uhhh, chief?" Phyllis said, catching herself from calling Big D "Dad."

"Someone I used to know," Big D said. "A character far more dangerous than Antonio Manikatti. I've been tangling with this one longer than the Syndicate. Even before I became chief of the agency. Long before any of you were even born. I should have known better than you insist you boys split up. If I hadn't, then Fluid might not have been captured. I had completely forgotten about him, and I know he's out to get me."

"If this guy's out to get _you, _Big D," Reggie said, "then why'd he capture Fluey?"

"We can't tell you the reason, Johnson," Big D said. "If the Shadow is around, it would be far too dangerous. I need an All Points Bulletin put out immediately."

"Do you want to send some agents to look for the Shadow, chief?" Multi asked.

"No," Big D said. "The best thing to do now is wait for the Shadow to make the next move. And I don't want anything done until I give the word. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Coiley, Multi, Phyllis, and Reggie shouted, all saluting. Skittles barked, stood up on her hind legs, and saluted as well, telling Big D she understood as well.

Big D then dismissed them, and they all left. Except Skittles. She started following Multi out of the office, but turned back and looked at the chief. She noticed he was beginning to look nervous, which was very unusual for Big D. He was usually a rock, even in the most dire of situations. Her mind made up, she walked over to the desk, jumped up onto it, and snuggled against Big D's arm. She had a feeling she was needed more with him, than with Multi right now. Big D said nothing, and just stroked the puppy's back.

Meanwhile, Fluey was just starting to come to. He was still feeling a bit dizzy from the earlier attack, and everything, especially his head, hurt.

"Ooooh . . . . ." he moaned. "What hit me?"

Fluey shook his head to regain his composure, and looked around his surroundings. He could tell he was in some kind of shack, which was probably down by the docks, because he could smell the salty air and hear waves crashing outside. He also noticed he had been tied to a chair.

"Finally woke up, did you?" Cronella asked, and she began washing one of her paws. "We were wondering how long it would be before you came to."

Fluey didn't say anything. He just glared at Cronella, and began maneuvering his hands to untie himself. As he was doing that, the Spinner, Televisitron, Mr. Instant, and the Shadow came into the room.

"Is he awake yet?" the Shadow asked.

"Just now," Cronella said, rubbing her paw against her head in order to wash her ears.

"Who _are_ you, anyway?" Fluey asked, glaring at the shadowy figure.

"I'm an old . . . . _friend_ of your grandfather's," the Shadow said. "We go way back."

"Old friend my foot," Fluey said. "What do you want with me?"

"Revenge, my dear boy. Simple revenge. I'm going to take out the Secret Security Headquarters, but to do that, I must first take out the head man. I managed to do so twenty years ago, but your grandfather ended up stopping me before I could get far. I've waited a long time to get my revenge on Davis Dawson."

"I don't know who you think you're kidding, pal. Big D isn't the head honcho of the SSHQ for nothing! You'll never get away with whatever you have in mind!"

"We'll just see about that, won't we?"

The Shadow chuckled evilly, and sat down, propping his feet up on a nearby table.

"So what do we do with him now?" the Spinner asked.

"Nothing," the Shadow replied. "We wait."

"Drat," Televisitron groaned. "I was looking forward to cleaning this kid's clock!"

"They'll be enough time for that," the Shadow said. "But for right now, all we do is wait. You know the old adage. Good things come to those who wait."

The five villains merely laughed. Fluey gulped, and continued to try to maneuver his way out of the ropes holding him to the chair. It was about all he could do, for now.


	5. Duped

Two days had gone by. Big D was still waiting for the Shadow to make the next move. It was starting to drive Coiley, Multi, and Skittles crazy.

"You'd think we'd hear from him now," Coiley said. "It's been two days."

"What's this character up to, anyway?" Multi asked.

"No good," Big D replied. "That's about all I can tell you for now."

Multi sighed. It was about all he could do at the moment.

After what seemed to take forever, something began beeping on the chief's communications console. Immediately Big D activated it, and an image of none other than the Shadow appeared on it.

"Greetings, Dawson," he said. "A pleasure to see you again."

"The feeling is most definitely _not_ mutual, Shadow," Big D said. "I know you have one of my top agents."

"I assumed you'd find out about that. And I also know he's more than just another agent of the Secret Security Headquarters. I know he happens to be your grandson. I'm sure you would like to see him."

The picture suddenly turned to static, and about one second later, switched to Fluey, tied to a chair and gagged, struggling to get loose. Underneath the chair were sticks of dynamite attached to an alarm clock. To Big D, Phyllis, and the two Impossibles, it meant only one thing.

"Clicking countdowns!" Coiley shouted. "He's got Fluey practically sitting on a time bomb!"

"Very observant," the Shadow said, from off screen. "However, it's not set to go off for quite some time, and I assure you, the child is unharmed. For now."

"I don't like the sound of this, Big D," Multi said.

"I don't, either," Big D commented. "All right, Shadow, you have the upper hand for right now. What will it take for you to release my grandson?"

"Ten million dollars should do quite nicely," the Shadow said. "You have three days to collect it. At midnight after the third day, bring it in a valise to the docks."

Fluey stopped struggling for a moment, and looked towards the Shadow's camera. He began shaking his head vigorously, screaming into his gag, trying to tell Big D and the others something. The Shadow merely laughed, and walked over to Fluey, putting his hands on the teenager's shoulders, and turning to the camera.

"The bomb is set to go off in three days time," he said. "So you'd better have the money, or else your grandson will go out with a _bang_!"

The Shadow cackled madly as the transmission ended. Big D turned off his console. Then he pulled his pipe out of his desk drawer, lit it, and began chewing on the stem.

"Well, chief?" Coiley asked.

"I'm thinking," Big D said.

"Where are we going to come up with ten million dollars?" Phyllis asked.

"And how do we come up with it in three days?" Multi asked. Big D didn't say anything. He continued chewing on the stem of his pipe, thinking.

"I have it," he said, finally. "I'll need as many agents as possible for this."

Big D then took a piece of paper out of his desk drawer and began writing something on it. Then he handed it to Phyllis.

"Type that up and then xerox enough copies to distribute throughout the agency," he said.

"Yes sir," Phyllis said, and she went to the outer office to get to work.

"What are you planning, chief?" Multi asked.

"You'll see once Phyllis distributes the memo," Big D said.

Multi and Coiley just looked at each other and shrugged. They had no idea what their superior was up to this time.

A couple of days had passed. Cronella was keeping watch for anyone from the SSHQ from the top of the docks. Being a cat at the wharf had it's advantages. She blended in very well, considering there were several stray cats hanging around the place, mostly because the smell of freshly (and not-so-freshly) caught fish attracted them.

"You really think he's gonna pay up?" the Spinner asked.

"Of course I'm sure," the Shadow said, glancing over at Fluey. Fluey just gave the Shadow the fiercest glare he could muster, and continued to maneuver his way out of the ropes. The ticking alarm clock underneath his chair was driving him crazy. He knew he had until midnight before the time bomb went off.

"We'd better start getting prepared," the Shadow said, opening a drawer. He pulled a large syringe filled with some sort of liquid inside of it, and tested it to make sure it worked. Fluey panicked a bit. He _hated_ needles. The Shadow approached him, cackling. Fluey let out a scream and resisted as well as he could.

"Now, now, now," the Shadow said, grabbing Fluey by the shoulder, and holding him still. "This will only take a second. This won't hurt. It's just going to calm you down a little bit."

Fluey continued to struggle. He sure wasn't going to trust the Shadow, that was for sure. He had a very good feeling that the syringe contained some kind of sedative that would knock him out. Televisitron and the Spinner walked over to him, and held him still while the Shadow stuck the syringe into the side of Fluey's neck, and injected whatever it was in that thing into his system. Immediately, Fluey felt his eyelids grow heavier, and his vision became blurry. He could barely keep his eyes open. Within moments, he lapsed into a deep sleep.

"That should hold him for awhile," the Shadow said. "Come on. We've got a lot to do, and little time to do it."

The villains laughed as they prepared themselves for the arrival of the agents of the Secret Security Headquarters.

That night, just before midnight, Coiley and Multi made their way to the docks carrying a black valise.

"I don't like this, Multi," Coiley said. "I don't think this is going to work."

"It's the chief's orders," Multi said with a shrug. "He's confident he's doing the right thing. But to tell the truth, Coiley, I'm kind of nervous about the outcome, myself."

While the boys were wandering around, Cronella spotted them, and ran underneath the dock to report to the Shadow.

"They sent the other two Impossibles down here," she said. "And they have the valise."

"Excellent, excellent," the Shadow said. "Do we have everything ready?"

"We should," Mr. Instant said.

"Good," the Shadow said. "Now then, Mr. Instant, you go get everything ready with our little friend while we go out there and talk to the boys."

Mr. Instant nodded, and the Shadow, the Spinner, Televisitron, and Cronella left the shack, just as Coiley and Multi were approaching it.

"You boys are a little early," the Shadow said, checking his watch. "It's only eleven thirty."

"We're not taking chances, Shadow," Coiley said, handing the crook the valise. "Here's your money."

"I'm a bit surprised Dawson gave in so quickly," the Shadow said, opening the valise to make sure there was money inside it. He dug his hand into the bag to make sure there wasn't anything else, like a tracking device in it.

"Ahh, very good, very good," the Shadow said.

"Are you satisfied with the money?" Multi asked.

"Indeed I am, boys," the Shadow said.

"Okay, then," Coiley said. "You've got your money, now we want Fluey back."

"Not so fast, boys, not so fast," the Shadow said. "I want to make sure everything's on the up and up here."

"The only thing that's up here is the jig, Shadow," Multi said suddenly, and he and Coiley whipped out their transformers and transformed into their superhero alter egos. Once they had transformed, Coiley pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"NOW!" he shouted. With that one word, the crooks found themselves surrounded by Secret Security Headquarters agents, all holding guns aimed at them. Big D had appeared as well, and walked forward.

"You didn't really expect me to hand ten million dollars over to you on a silver platter like this, did you?" he asked. "Now where is the boy?"

"I hope this little joke of yours was worth it, Dawson," the Shadow said. "I don't like to be double crossed. Troops, get them!"

The Spinner whipped out his electroshock web gun and began firing high voltage spider webs out at the SSHQ agents. Televisitron had a regular pistol and began firing it. Cronella did the only thing she could do. She attacked furiously, hissing and fissing, clawing and biting, scratching and all. The SSHQ agents had their hands full, even though they _did_ outnumber the crooks. Mr. Instant, who had been guarding an unconscious Fluey, joined in with his instant item gun, dialing in an instant artillery barrage. While the SSHQ agents had their hands full with the escaped crooks, the Shadow took that moment to take the valise, and run for a nearby motorboat. He started it up, and began speeding away. But the act didn't go unnoticed. Impossi-Pup was on the scene, and she began barking frantically. She did her pointer routine, to point out the escaping criminal, via boat (_poing!_)

"Look, the Shadow's getting away!" Coiley shouted.

"I think you boys have other things to worry about than chasing after me!" the Shadow called to the two Impossibles. "It's almost midnight!"

Suddenly, the boys heard an alarm clock ringing, and suddenly remembered about Fluey and the time bomb. They raced over to their unconscious comrade, untied him, and got him to his feet, just as the minute hand on the alarm clock reached the twelve.

"Hit the deck!" Coiley shouted, and he and Multi grabbed Fluey, and dove to the ground, just as the time bomb went off.

KA-BLAM!

Debris was flying all over the place, and everyone, including Mr. Instant, the Spinner, Televisitron, and Cronella, ducked to avoid getting hit by it. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

"Wow, that was some blast!" Coiley shouted, as he and Multi leaned up. Fluey was beginning to come to his senses, too.

"Oooh, my aching head!" he shouted.

"Are you boys all right?" Big D asked, as he and Impossi-Pup ran over.

"Yeah, I think so, chief," Fluey said, standing up, he staggered a little, and nearly fell flat on his face, but Big D caught him before he could.

"Careful there, Fluid," the chief said.

"Thanks," Fluey replied. "I guess I'm a little dizzy, that's all."

Impossi-Pup then zoomed over to where the boys were standing, but ended up screeching to a halt right before she could give Fluey her usual greeting (which involved knocking him off his feet and smothering him with puppy kisses).

"_Now_ she learns to apply the brakes," Multi said with a groan.

"Maybe she figured Fluey's been through enough already and didn't want to knock him over," Coiley suggested.

"I guess maybe you're right," Fluey said, and he bent down to pet the super puppy. "But I'm okay, see?"

Impossi-Pup then started to retreat from her dark-haired friend, whimpering. Big D and the boys looked at her oddly. She'd never reacted like that before!

"Come on, fellas, let's split," Fluey said. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, it's been a long couple of days," Multi agreed, as he picked up his puppy. Impossi-Pup continued to whimper. Something wasn't right to her.

"Calm down, girl," Multi said, scratching the pup behind the ears. But Impossi-Pup continued whimpering.

By daybreak, Big D had called the Impossibles into his office. He wanted to give them an update on what was going on.

"Boys, we have a slight problem," he said. "We managed to arrest Mr. Instant, Televisitron, the Spinner, and Cronella Critch last night, but the Shadow got away."

"It was my fault, chief," Fluey said. "I'm sure you would've caught him if the guys hadn't gotten me out of the jam I got myself in."

"No, you're in no way to blame for this, Fluid," Big D said.

"Do you want us to try to locate him?" Multi asked.

"No," Big D said. "I don't want you boys dealing with the Shadow. He's too dangerous even for the three of you. What I want you to do is go about your usual duties and not worry about the Shadow."

"Right, chief," Multi said. The boys were about to leave the office, when Fluey suddenly stopped.

"Fluey, what's wrong?" Coiley asked.

"I . . . . I don't know," Fluey said. "I feel so . . . . so . . . . oooohhhhh!"

And with that, Fluey suddenly fainted. Multi caught him before he could hit the floor.

"Put him on the couch," Big D said.

Skittles began growling a little as Multi put Fluey on Big D's couch for the moment. She didn't like this one bit. Once he was on the couch, Fluey began to regain consciousness.

"Ooooohhhhh . . . . ." he moaned. "Where am I?"

"You okay, Fluey?" Multi asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Fluey said, then he turned to Big D. "Sorry about that, chief. I guess I'm still a little out of it. But I'm okay, now. We've got bad guys to bust."

"No, I don't think so," Big D said. "You're in no condition to go after the any criminals."

"Well, if you insist, chief," Fluey shrugged.

Now Skittles was certain something was up. It wasn't like Fluey to just shrug something like this off. He usually argued with the chief to let him go ahead. Skittles growled, and then bit down into Fluey's hand as hard as she possibly could.

"Hey!" Multi shouted. "Skittles, what's the matter with you?!"

"I think she's gone cuckoo," Fluey said, shrugging. Big D took a look at his hand, but there weren't any bite marks.

"That's odd," he said. "She didn't even leave a mark."

"Oh, well . . . . ." Fluey said, with a shrug.

"Yeah, how come you didn't react when she bit you?" Coiley asked.

Skittles started barking, and she raced out of the room. The others followed her outside to the hallway, and caught up with the puppy at the water cooler.

"Skittles, what are you doing?" Multi asked. Skittles barked, and ran down the opposite end of the hall. Then, she revved up, and charged, hitting the water cooler at super speed, smashing the plastic container. Water splashed everywhere.

"Hey!" Coiley shouted. "Skittles, have you flipped?!"

Suddenly, Coiley, Multi, and Big D heard crackling, and they turned toward Fluey. He was convulsing, like he was having a seizure or something. It also appeared that sparks were flying from various parts of his body, and he was beginning to smoke.

"What the devil?" Big D asked.

"Fluey?" Multi asked.

Fluey didn't answer. After a few more pops, cracks, and sizzles, The dark-haired Impossible fell to the ground, in pieces, revealing wires, computer chips, and other assorted parts, all of which were smoldering.

"I've heard of falling to pieces, but that was ridiculous!" Coiley commented.

"Now what was that all about?" Multi asked.

"Boys, I'm afraid we've been duped," Big D said. "This wasn't Fluid at all. It was an android."

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" Coiley shouted. "Then that must mean the Shadow still has the real Fluey prisoner!"

"How are we going to find him, chief?" Multi asked. "He could be anywhere by now!"

"I'm going to contact the coast guard," Big D said. "You two round up some of the other agents to search the area. There's a chance Fluid may still be at the docks, underneath the debris when the time bomb went off. You two use that jet of yours and search from the air."

"Right, chief!" Coiley and Multi shouted in unison, and they, along with Skittles, raced for the Impossi-Jet. Big D sat down at his desk, and groaned. He couldn't be_lieve_ he had fallen for this trick.

"Mark my words, Shadow," he said, clenching his fists. "You'll pay for this!"


	6. Open Mouth Insert Foot

While Big D, Coiley, and Multi started the search, the Shadow was cruising along the waters in his motorboat. The route he was taking was uncharted, though he knew them like the back of his hand. He had piloted these waters before. For twenty years, he had been hiding out on a remote island, and he was heading back there for the time being. Once the island was in sight, the Shadow drove his motorboat up to the old boat house, and stopped it. Then he checked his watch.

"Well, that took a good twelve hours," he said. "But c'est la vie."

The Shadow then walked over to the back of the boat, and opened a latch, revealing a trap door, and storage unit. The Shadow had put Fluey inside of it (still bound and gagged) before the SSHQ agents were due to show up at the docks in Megatropolis. Naturally, the Shadow wasn't going to release his captive that easily. He planted the android (via Mr. Instant's instant item gun) in order to keep Big D and the other agents off is trail, for the time being. He insisted the android be as real as possible, in order to fool the chief (and fooling Big D is easier said than done!)

During the boat trip, Fluey had been sleeping soundly, but he was beginning to come around by this point.

"Mmmmppphhh . . . ." he moaned, feeling extremely groggy.

"Welcome to my private island, my young friend," the Shadow said, pulling Fluey out of the boat, and then grabbing his valise. Then he started carrying Fluey up a pathway that led to an old, run down, manor house. Fluey just stared at it. He was feeling a bit out of it from the injection the Shadow had given him.

"This is my home away from home," the Shadow said, opening the front door, and walking inside. He took Fluey up the stairs, and into a small room. He placed the disoriented teenager in a wooden chair, and tied him to it.

"That should suffice for now," he said. Fluey just moaned, and closed his eyes, as his head slumped onto his chest, and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

"Sweet dreams, little one," the Shadow said with a smirk. "You'll be needing all the rest you can get."

And with that, the Shadow walked out of the room.

Back in Megatropolis, Big D was down at the docks with Phyllis, watching several agents scour the area, with practically a fine tooth comb.

"We've scoured the entire area, chief!" one agent called out. "Agent Fluid just isn't anywhere around here!"

"I was afraid of that," Big D said. His watch began beeping, and he looked at it, and found he was receiving a transmission from the Impossi-Mobile.

"What is it, boys?" he asked.

"Just checking in, chief," Coiley said. "We haven't found a sign of Fluey yet, but we'll keep looking."

Big D ended the transmission, and looked out over the waters. Phyllis put her hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him, chief, don't worry," she said.

Big D didn't say anything. He just pushed a button on his wrist communicator.

"All units report to headquarters immediately," he said. "I'm calling a meeting. Be at headquarters in exactly one hour!"

"Does that include us, chief?" Multi asked from the Impossi-Mobile.

"I said all units, didn't I?" Big D asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Yes, sir!" Multi shouted. "You heard the man, Coiley. Turn this thing around and head back to Megatropolis."

"Boy, the chief really sounds steamed," Coiley said. Skittles whimpered.

"I haven't seen him this upset since SNAP sent a mole to HQ," Multi said, scratching the puppy behind the ears.

Exactly one hour later, all the agents of the SSHQ were gathered in the auditorium of the building. Not a lot of them were very happy, though.

"This had better be good," one agent grumbled. "I was that close to busting a smuggling ring."

"Attention, please!" Big D shouted into the microphone on the podium, while he banged a gavel against it. "May I have your attention please!"

All the chatter stopped, and attention focused on Big D. When the chief called for attention, they gave it, no questions asked.

"Now then, as you may, or may not know, we have a slight crisis on our hands," Big D said. "The Shadow has returned."

Many of the older agents, who were familiar with the Shadow, began talking at once. Big D banged the gavel on the podium to restore order.

"I know many of you aren't familiar with the Shadow," he said. "But he is a highly dangerous criminal, and very tricky. The agency has been after him for nearly thirty-five years now."

"If you've been after him for that long, dontcha think you woulda caught him by now?" one of the younger agents asked.

"Like I said, he is very tricky," Big D said. "Now, the Shadow has already struck, by releasing four criminals from prison, and he has also kidnapped Agent Fluid, and . . . . ."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," another agent called out. "I thought we took care of that one already. I saw Agent Fluid this morning with the other two Impossibles talking to you, chief."

"Yes, well . . . ." Big D said, a little hesitantly.

"That was Fluey, wasn't it, sir?" Reggie asked.

"I'm afraid it wasn't," Big D said. "The Shadow had replaced Agent Fluid with a robotic duplicate during last night's rescue attempt. We didn't find this out until this morning."

The agents all began talking at once over this.

"You mean . . . . . you didn't realize it right away, Big D?" Mike Rogers, the SSHQ head mechanic, asked, like he couldn't believe it.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Rogers, it's true," Big D sighed.

"I can't believe it," an older agent (one who had been there since Big D first joined the agency) said. "I just _can't_ believe it! You can usually tell the difference between a human and an android!"

"Yes, I know," Big D said.

"But this android was so convincing . . . ." Multi started.

"I don't think that's any excuse," another agent piped up. "What kind of chief can't tell the difference between an android and a real person?! No matter how life like it is!"

"Please!" Phyllis shouted into the microphone on the podium. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"The fact of the matter is," Big D said, "the Shadow has one of the agency's top agents in his clutches."

"So . . . . what do you want us to do about it, chief?" one of the other agents asked.

"I want every available agent on this," Big D said. "I want Agent Fluid found, and brought back safe."

"You gotta be kidding," a younger agent said. "I got better things to do with my time than chase after some AWOL teenager!"

"Fluey has _not_ gone AWOL!" Coiley shouted.

"You have your orders," Big D said. "Any agent who is currently not on an assignment is to be searching for the Shadow. All others who have been working on previous assignments, please wrap those up as soon as you possibly can. I want all hands on deck in this matter."

"What about new assignments, Big D?" Shawn asked.

"You leave anything that comes in to me," Big D said. "Right now, I want all available agents to search for Fluid. Meeting dismissed."

Big D gave one final whack of the gavel, and then left the stage. Many agents (mostly the younger ones) were griping over the situation.

"I think the chief's gone off his rocker," an agent from Mike's mechanic team said.

"I don't think so," Mike said. "After all, the Impossibles are the top agents around here. It makes perfect sense to me."

"Big deal. We've had agents that have been MIA before, and the chief has _never_ had us drop everything to look for them!"

"Like the chief said. This Shadow character is extremely dangerous. The Impossibles are the agency's top agents and . . . . ."

"Top agents my foot. They're Big D's pets, that's what they are!"

"Look, I'm not thrilled with this assignment myself. You guys know I've been workin' on a car project down in the garage, and since I don't have any other assignments to work on, I have to put my car project on hold until we find Fluey, and who knows how long that could take? I realize it's a huge inconvenience, but considerin' what I know about the Shadow, since I did the research on some of these criminals, Fluey's life could be at stake here, and therefore, I think this is more important! Now shut your trap and let's get goin'!"

Coiley and Multi had heard the conversation, and smiled at Mike. They knew a lot of the agents weren't happy about this, but they knew they could count on Mike, as well as Phyllis, Reggie, the girls, and the SSHQ's chief medical officer, Dr. Isaac Phelps.

Big D sat down at his desk, and began drumming his fingers on it. As he was thinking the situation over, one of the agents walked into the office.

"Chief, I just want to know something," he said. "We've had agents going MIA all the time. Top agents have gone MIA before. You never had us drop everything before to find them. Why are you now?"

"It's my orders," Big D said.

"But chief, why is Agent Fluid a special case in this regard?"

"That's on a need to know basis, Meadows, and you don't need to know."

Agent Meadows just shrugged and left. Once he was gone, Phyllis walked into the office.

"I hate to bother you right now, sir," she said. "But . . . . ."

"What is it, Phyllis?" Big D asked, sounding annoyed.

"Several agents are complaining about this assignment. They're saying you've never ordered everyone to drop everything for a missing agent before. I mean, I know why you want all available hands on this, and Multi and Coiley know, and we sure don't blame you, but a lot of the agents are getting edgy about this."

"I can't tell them the reason, and I'd better not hear about _you_ telling them my reasonings, either, young lady!"

"No, sir. You won't, sir."

"Is that all?"

"Well . . . . no. See . . . ."

"What is it?"

"They're also talking about how . . . . . uhhh . . . . how you and the boys were . . . . . ummmm . . . . ."

"Yes?"

Phyllis bit her lower lip, began twirling her hair around her index finger, and began fidgeting a little, like she always did when she was nervous. Big D gave her a sharp look, and folded his arms across his chest, drumming the fingers of his right hand against his left arm.

"Ummm, uhhh, that is, I, uhhhh . . . . ." Phyllis stammered (another thing she did when she was nervous).

"For heavens sake, just tell me already!" Big D shouted.

"The agents are talking about how easily you and Coiley and Multi were fooled by that duplicate, sir!" Phyllis shouted, quickly.

"So I was fooled," Big D said. "It proves I'm only human, after all."

"I know, but . . . . ." Phyllis said, and she started twirling her hair again.

"But what?"

"Some of the senior agents are saying you could always tell the difference between a real person and a robot."

"We covered this at the meeting earlier, Phyllis. What else are they saying?"

"They're saying that you're losing your touch, and others are saying you might want to start thinking of retirement."

"I am not losing my touch. And I am _not_ going to think about retirement!"

"Well, chief, you've got to admit . . . . . you're no spring chicken, and there _have_ been some instances . . . . ."

"What instances?"

"Having Danalleah deported comes to mind. Fluey was practically useless after that."

"That wasn't _my_ decision, and I had no say in that matter whatsoever!"

"Maybe, but there other times."

"Such as?"

"There was the mole SNAP snuck in, and you couldn't figure out how they were finding out the info on the agents. Then there was the time you brought Fluey back to the house after Antonio Manikatti's goons tried to kidnap him, and you left him alone, and he ended up kidnapped by Manikatti himself, and both of you nearly got killed after that one. And then there was the time you let the boys infiltrate JimBob Freep's Lost Boys cult. And the time dealing with the Maniacal Mechanic when you sent Fluey up to your office to cool off after he was flying off the handle, and you left him alone, and he wound up sneaking out and getting caught. Then the time Fluey got amnesia, and you allowed him to pose as a gangster after he got his memory back, which was too dangerous for him to attempt. And, of course, this most recent incident, separating the boys instead of keeping them together. I think _that_ was the dumbest thing you've ever done, Dad."

Big D had been doing his best to keep calm, but he was seething.

"Seriously, Dad, what made you even _think_ it was a good idea to separate the boys?" Phyllis went on. "I mean, you know they can handle things much better when they're together, especially since that camera the Shadow planted discovered our little family secret . . . . . I tell you, that was the stupidest decision you have ever . . . . ."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Big D screamed at the top of his voice. He shot to his feet and banged his fists on his desk so hard, everything on it shook. Phyllis jumped back, startled.

"Don't you _dare_ use that tone with me, young lady!" Big D yelled. "You do _not_ have the authority to speak to me in that manner! I realize I _have_ made some mistakes in my career. Even the former chiefs have made their share of mistakes! Nobody's perfect, child!"

Big D then turned to face the wall, still angry. Phyllis stood there, not exactly sure what to think.

"I knew it was a mistake allowing you to work here," he said. "Probably the biggest mistake of my life. You're just as stubborn as your brother, _and_ your father! I swear, I should have put a stop to Jackson's wild ways right from the beginning! If he hadn't been so out of control, I never would have had to . . . . ."

"What?!" Phyllis suddenly shouted. "What do mean stubborn as my brother and my father? I thought you were . . . ."

Big D stopped suddenly when he realized what he just said. He turned around at looked at Phyllis, wincing a bit at the hurt look on her face.

"Phyllis, I . . . . ." he started.

"You're not my father, are you?" Phyllis asked.

"Phyllis, please, I can explain . . . ." Big D started.

But Phyllis wouldn't have any of it. She turned, and ran out of the office and down the hall in tears. Big D ran after her, but she was already at the elevator. Coiley and Multi happened to see her get on one of the elevators as they were getting off another.

"What was that all about, chief?" Coiley asked.

"Apparently, Fluid inherited the trait of opening the mouth and inserting the foot from me," Big D replied. "And that's all I'm saying for now. Did you boys want something?"

"No, we were just wondering if you wanted us to go back out in the Impossi-Jet and continue our air search," Multi said.

"No," Big D said. "Not yet. I want you to track down Phyllis and bring her back here first. I need to speak with her. There's something very important I have to tell her. And I think I should tell you two boys as well, since you already know about my little family secret. And once Fluid is found, I plan on telling him, too."

Coiley and Multi just looked at each other, and ran out of the office to catch up with Phyllis. Skittles walked over to the chief, and pawed at his leg, whimpering. Big D picked her up, and sat down, with the little puppy in his lap. This whole business with the Shadow was stressing him out big time, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could remain under control.

Meanwhile, back on the Shadow's island, Fluey was starting to come around again. The effects of the injection were finally beginning to wear off. The Shadow walked into the room, and walked over to his prisoner.

"Glad to see you're awake," he said, removing Fluey's gag. "How are we feeling?"

"You just _wait_ until I get outta here," Fluey said, even though he still felt a bit groggy. "Even if I don't have my powers, I can still beat the tar out of you!"

"My, my, my, aren't we a spirited little boy."

"Watch who you're calling a little boy, buster!"

The Shadow merely laughed, and sat down at a table in the room, where he had left his valise. He opened it up, and poured the money out of it.

"Ten million dollars," he said. "And it's mine! All mine! I can't be_lieve_ your grandfather would actually hand over ten million dollars! He's such a fool."

"Big D is _not_ a fool!" Fluey shouted. "He wouldn't just hand over ten million bucks to a crook on a silver platter!"

"Well, actually, he didn't. It _was _a ruse, but it backfired. But I wouldn't count on him, or anyone coming to your rescue now, child."

"Why not?"

"I set up a carbon copy of you to keep Mr. Dawson out of my hair."

"He'll find out. You can't pull a fast one over on Big D!"

"Well, he might find out. I'd like to see how long it will take him to discover the truth. In the meantime, I'm going to count up the ten million."

"I wouldn't count your million before it's hatched, Shadow. Like I said before, Big D's no fool. I know for a fact he wouldn't just pay a ransom just like that."

"My, my, but aren't we the optimist."

"Okay, don't believe me. But you'll see that I'm right. Those bills have got to be fakes. One of our agents busted a counterfeiter last month, and they took his printing press to our mechanic for him to strip and use for parts, but he hadn't gotten around to taking it apart yet. I'll bet Big D used that printing press to print up a fake ransom."

"Oh please. I know fake money when I see it. These bills are genuine. There is nothing fake about them!"

"If you say so . . . . ."

Fluey smirked as he watched as the Shadow turned toward the ten million dollars, and began counting it. But then, he decided to check the serial numbers on those bills. The numbers on the second bill were identical to the numbers on the first. It was the same with the third, fourth, and fifth bills. He began taking random bills from his pile, and they all had the same numbers on them.

"Fakes! All of them! All of them are fakes!" he yelled. "Oooooohhhh that Dawson!"

"Told ya so," Fluey said, somewhat smugly. "I knew Big D would never let you get away with ten million bucks."

The Shadow didn't say anything. He stormed over to Fluey, tied the gag back over his mouth, untied him from the chair, and practically flung the boy over his shoulder, carrying him down the stairs. He walked out of the house, and stormed over to the side of it, On the side of the house was a storm cellar. There was a lock and chain between the handles of the door. The Shadow reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, unlocked the lock, opened the doors, and threw Fluey down the flight of stairs. Fluey landed hard, and banged the side of his head against the floor. He wasn't knocked out, but he was dazed. He groaned, pulled himself into a sitting position, and glared at the Shadow.

"I hope you enjoy it down there," the Shadow said. "And I wouldn't count on your grandfather coming to rescue you. As far as I'm concerned, you're never going to see him again!"

And with that, the Shadow slammed the cellar doors closed, and locked them, using the chains and the lock. Then he started back to the old house, laughing maniacally.


	7. Revalations

Fluey shifted into a kneeling position, and began wriggling his wrists to get them out of the ropes. He knew if he could get his wrists loose, he would be able to untie himself. Finally, he managed to work one hand free, and he easily pulled his arm out from the ropes tied around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides. From there, he pulled his other arm loose, and yanked off his gag. Then he started untying his ankles.

"Whew, _that's_ a relief!" he shouted, tossing the ropes aside. "Now all I gotta do is figure out how to get out of here!"

Fluey walked up to the cellar door, and pushed on it, even though he knew darn well he was locked in. The chain rattled against the doors as Fluey pushed, and it gave him an idea.

"If I can get that maniac to open the door, I might be able to make a run for it," he said. "I just have to get him out here to open it."

Immediately, Fluey began pushing on the door as hard and as fast as he could, and he started screaming for help at the top of his lungs. He was making quite a racket, which drew the Shadow's attention, which was what Fluey was hoping for. He continued this until he heard the Shadow unlocking the chains and removing them. Fluey then pushed the cellar doors open as hard as he could, and made a break for it. The door ended up whacking the Shadow in the face.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Why you little . . . . ."

"I'm outta here!" Fluey shouted, and he took off running. The Shadow growled, and ran after him.

"Wait'll I get my hands on you!" he yelled.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Fluey shouted.

Fluey ran through the back gates of the house and down a pathway. He was just glad this wasn't a desert island, but he _did_ have a feeling the island was deserted (big difference). That meant there would be no one around to help him. He ran to the shoreline of the island and stopped.

"I think I lost him," he said. Then he looked out toward the horizon, hoping to see something, but all he could see was water.

"Water as far as the eye can see," he groaned. "There's no way I can swim that far, even if I _had_ my powers. I've gotta find that boat of his. It's the only way I can get off this island."

Fluey walked along the beach, hoping to find the Shadow's boat somewhere along the shore. As he was searching, he discovered the boat house.

"Eureeka!" he shouted. But before he could make a run for it, a cloth was suddenly tied over his mouth, and he felt himself being pulled backwards.

"Now who did you think you were kidding?" the Shadow asked, throwing Fluey to the ground, and wrenching his arms behind his back. He tied the teenager's wrists together, and then grabbed hold of his hair, pulling him to his feet. Fluey let out a pained shriek, though muffled by the gag.

"Shut up!" the Shadow yelled, slapping Fluey across the face. Then he began dragging Fluey back to the old house. Fluey resisted, struggling and squirming, and refusing to walk.

"Get moving, you little brat!" the Shadow shouted, beginning to lose patients. He finally reached the cellar door, opened it, and threw Fluey down the steps into it. Then, instead of locking him in, the Shadow went down the steps himself, pulled Fluey to his feet by his hair, and guided him over to a far corner of the cellar. He threw Fluey against the wall as hard as he could. Fluey moaned as he hit the wall, and then slid onto the floor, too dazed to move.

"You've been a bad little boy," the Shadow said, loosening his belt. "And bad little boys must be punished."

Fluey gasped as the Shadow raised his belt, and struck the dark-haired Impossible with it, as hard as he could, repeatedly. Fluey screamed in pain, but the Shadow wouldn't stop. Finally, after about twenty lashes, he stopped. Fluey collapsed to the ground, and moaned.

"Maybe that will teach you to stay put," the Shadow said, putting his belt back on. "This is your only warning, child. If you try to escape once more, you _know_ what will happen!"

Fluey didn't respond. The Shadow just looked at him and laughed.

"No one's going to come for you," he said. "Your grandfather will _never_ find you. Don't even think there's a shred of hope that he will!"

And with that, the Shadow left Fluey alone in the dark, dreary cellar, laughing maniacally. Fluey just let out a moan, and closed his eyes, wondering if the Shadow was right. There was no way he could contact his friends, or the chief. And he didn't even know where he was, either. How was the chief ever going to find him?

Meanwhile, Multi, Coiley, and Skittles had returned to Big D's office with Phyllis, who was still clearly upset over the earlier incident. Big D sitting at his desk, while Reggie was moving some kind of contraption around the room. It looked like some sort of metal detector, but it made clicking noises like a geiger counter.

"What's going on, Big D?" Coiley asked.

"Checking for bugs," Big D said. "I'm not taking any chances."

"What is that thing?" Multi asked Reggie.

"My super sonic spy bug buster," Reggie said. "I've been dying for a chance to use it."

Multi and Coiley just nodded. After a few minutes, Reggie put down his device, and turned to the chief.

"No bugs in here, chief, he said. "Not even so much as a flea on Skittles."

"Good," Big D said. "You're excused, Johnson. This is a private matter."

"Gotcha, chief," Reggie said, and he left the office closing the door behind him. Skittles barked, and walked over toward Phyllis. She picked up the puppy, and sat down on the couch. She didn't even look at Big D.

"Boys, have a seat," Big D said to Multi and Coiley. "What I have to tell you may surprise you. First of all, Phyllis, what you said before you ran out of my office . . . . . about me not being your father . . . . . you were right. I'm not your father."

"And Jack isn't . . . . . _wasn't_ my older brother, I take it," Phyllis said.

"Correct," Big D said. "I meant to tell you this sooner. I really did. But I never got the chance."

"What are you going to tell me next?" Phyllis asked, glaring at Big D. "Jack wasn't your son, either?"

"No, Jackson was my son," Big D said. "And . . . . . you're Jackson's daughter, and Fluid's half-sister."

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" Multi shouted.

"Well . . . . now that sixteen year age gap between them makes sense to me," Coiley said, shrugging.

"Is that why you never really answered questions about the huge age gap between us?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes," Big D sighed. "Let me explain. You see, Phyllis, Jackson was . . . . . how do I put this?"

"A swinger?" Coiley suggested.

"Well, that's putting it mildly," Big D said. "But you get the general idea. The boy was completely out of control. When he was in school, he considered himself a real ladies man. He was a sports hero, good looking, and he knew it. When he was sixteen, he was dating a girl named Frieda Macintosh, who happened to be about as out of control as Jackson. Maybe even more so. In any case, to make a long story short, it was the same circumstances as Fluid's birth. Jackson and his girlfriend spent a couple of nights in a hotel room, which resulted in a pregnancy. I have no idea how she kept it from her parents. Nine months later, she arrived at our door, with the baby, and told Jackson she couldn't take care of it. Her family was moving, and she didn't want her parents to know she had been pregnant."

"Kind of hard to hide a pregnancy, isn't it?" Coiley asked.

"As I had stated, I don't know how she did it, but she did it," Big D said. "In any case, we took the baby in, and . . . . ."

"And told everyone you were my father," Phyllis said.

"It was to save face," Big D said. "I had a reputation around the agency back then. I had just been promoted to chief, and this sort of scandal would have cost me my job. People would begin to think I couldn't handle a super secret organization if I couldn't even handle my own sixteen-year-old son."

"So now I'm a scandal?!" Phyllis shouted, jumping to her feet.

"I didn't mean it like that," Big D said. "I just couldn't tell the truth. It was during a time when children born out of wedlock, especially to teenage parents, was a serious social stigma. We had to do it this way."

"Well, it doesn't really matter now," Phyllis said, as she sat back down. "What's done is done, and there's nothing that can be done to change it."

"Not unless we rebuild Timeatron's time machine," Coiley said.

"Don't get any bright ideas, Coiley," Multi said. "Altering the past may have drastic effects on the present."

Coiley nodded. Things got silent all of a sudden. Big D finally cleared his throat.

"About what I had said earlier," he said. "It was mainly out of frustration. This entire business with the Shadow is really starting to get to me. I didn't mean a word of what I said. People say a lot of things they don't mean when they're angry."

"Or frustrated, or worried," Phyllis sighed. "I'm guilty of that, too. When I said the stupidest decision you ever made . . . . . I didn't mean it, Da---uhhh, chief. I'm just really worried about Fluey. We don't know where he is, and we can't track him down."

"I know," Big D said with a sigh.

"Yeah, we're worried, too, Phyllis," Coiley said. "But we're not going to give up."

"That's right," Multi said. "We're going to keep searching until we find Fluey."

"I just hope he's all right," Phyllis said. "He doesn't have his transformer with him."

"Well, standing here talking isn't going to do any good," Coiley said. "We're going back to search in the Impossi-Jet, chief."

"Good," Big D said. "That's about all we can do for right now."

And with that, Phyllis, Skittles, and the two Impossibles left Big D's office. Phyllis was still a little upset with the chief, but there were more important things to worry about right now. She stood at the window, and stared outside, not really looking at anything. She was wondering where the Shadow was holding Fluey, and wondering whether or not he was all right. She was hoping he was, but fearing he wasn't, and it was her fear that was winning out over hope.

Big D wasn't in that much better shape himself. He was standing at the window in his office, staring outside at nothing himself, chewing the stem of his pipe nervously. It took quite a lot to make Big D nervous, and this was definitely making him nervous. And it made him even more nervous not knowing where the Shadow had taken his grandson, especially with no way to contact him, and no way of knowing if he was hurt or not, or even still alive. Big D shuddered a little at that last thought. He knew the Shadow was not above murder. He only hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I'll find you," he said. "No matter what the cost, Fluid, I _will_ find you."


	8. Going Nowhere

Fluey sat in the cellar, rubbing his hands back and forth against the edge of a shovel that was in the cellar, until the ropes binding his hands snapped off. He removed the gag, and then leaned against the wall for a minute.

"Man, it's gonna take some figuring before I can get out of here!" he shouted.

As Fluey sat there, thinking over his options, he heard a click coming from the door, and chains rattling, and he just knew it was the Shadow coming back down. He quickly tied the gag back over his mouth, and positioned his hands behind his back. He had an idea, and he only hoped it would work. Once he heard the door open, he closed his eyes, and relaxed his body, pretending he was asleep. He heard footsteps coming toward him, but didn't move.

"Sleeping, eh?" the Shadow said, with a snicker. "Heh, heh, heh. They look so innocent when they're asleep."

Fluey waited for the right moment. He opened one eye, about halfway. The Shadow didn't seem to notice. He stood up, and that's when Fluey made his move. He jumped to his feet quickly, and punched the Shadow in the stomach. Then he gave him a kick, karate style, below the belt. The Shadow doubled over in pain. Fluey didn't bother to see if the Shadow was down for the count. He just raced for the stairs. He was almost to the door when he heard a snap, and something wrapped around his ankle. His leg was pulled downward, causing him to trip, and he ended up banging his jaw against one of the steps.

"Yeouch!" he shouted. "Ooohhh, that hurt!"

"Going somewhere?" the Shadow asked, holding a whip in his hand. The end of it was wrapped around Fluey's ankle. "It looks like one naughty little boy hasn't learned his lesson yet."

The Shadow grabbed Fluey by his hair, and pulled him to his feet, then dragged him back down the stairs. He threw the teenager to the floor, then he grabbed the back of Fluey's jacket, and ripped it off. Then, the Shadow took hold of Fluey's green turtleneck, and tore it off his back, as well. Then loosened his belt, and started striking. Fluey bit his lower lip, determined not to give this guy the satisfaction of hearing him scream, but it wasn't easy, especially since the belt was smacking against his bare skin (buckle and all), and it _really_ hurt!

"Had enough?" the Shadow asked. Fluey didn't answer. The Shadow smiled sneakily. He took his whip, and gave Fluey a couple of lashes to his back with it, as hard as he could. Fluey finally couldn't take it anymore, and let out a blood curdling shriek.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" he yelled.

"Now, if you were a good little boy, I wouldn't have had to do that," the Shadow said, giving Fluey one final strike. "But you're insisting on being a bad little boy, and as I stated before, bad little boys must be punished."

"Why are you _do_ing this?" Fluey asked, as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Revenge, of course," the Shadow said. "You're just the thing I need to destroy Davis Dawson."

"You won't get away with it. You _won't_ succeed! Why do you even _think_ he's the chief of the Secret Security Headquarters? You'll _never_ be able to destroy him!"

The Shadow then grabbed Fluey's shoulders, and slammed his head against the floor, hard. Fluey wasn't knocked out, but he _was_ dazed.

"Deny it all you want, little one," the Shadow said, standing up. "Your grandfather doesn't even know where I'm holding you. He doesn't know what I'm doing to you. He doesn't know if you're hurt, or even alive. And sometimes, little one, not knowing anything can be all one needs to slowly lose their sanity."

Fluey glanced around the room, until he spotted the shovel, and luckily for him, it was in reach. He grabbed it and gave the Shadow a good, hard whack with it, where he knew it would hurt the most.

"Gaaakkhhh!" the Shadow groaned, doubling over in pain. Fluey used that moment to hit the Shadow in the head with the shovel, and he made another break for the stairs. The Shadow recovered quickly and grabbed Fluey by his arms before he could reach the stairs.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Fluey yelled, struggling.

"You just won't learn, will you?" the Shadow asked.

Fluey jammed the heel of his boot into the Shadow's instep as hard as he possibly could.

"Yeow!" the Shadow shouted, ultimately letting go of Fluey. Without missing a beat, Fluey socked the Shadow in the jaw, sending him to the floor. Then he ran for the stairs. The Shadow got up, picked up the shovel, and swung it like a baseball bat.

"Aggghhh!" Fluey screamed, as the shovel made contact with his shoulder, and he fell to the floor.

"Now then," the Shadow said, approaching him. "Are you going to be a good little boy and behave yourself . . . . . ."

The Shadow then raised the shovel over his head, as if he were going to hit Fluey with it again, even harder than before, this time in the head.

"Or do I have to _bash your head in_?!" he growled, his tone changing from a patronizing voice to one of pure evil, which sent chills up Fluey's spine.

"Okay, okay!" Fluey shouted, holding his arms up to block any oncoming attacks. "I'll behave!"

"That's a good little boy," the Shadow said, in that annoying patronizing tone. Then he laughed and went up the stairs, slamming the cellar doors behind him. Fluey leaned against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest, folded his arms across them, and rested his head. He had never felt so humiliated in his entire life.

Three days had passed. Coiley, Multi, and Skittles were cruising the skies in the Impossi-Jet, searching for any trace of Fluey, or the Shadow.

"We're not having much luck," Multi said.

"I know," Coiley said. "We can't seem to tune into Fluey's communicator."

"We'd better head back to Megatropolis. We're almost out of fuel, and if we run out while we're out here, we'll be stranded. There's no land in sight."

Coiley hated to admit it, but Multi had a point. Multi turned the jet around, and the two Impossibles headed back to Megatropolis.

Back at the SSHQ, things were going about as slow as ever with the case. Big D was down in the computer room with a couple of agents, trying to dig up information on the Shadow's last known whereabouts.

"All that's coming up is info on when he was last seen in Megatropolis, chief," an agent said. "And that was twenty years ago."

"I refuse to give up on this," Big D said.

"We're not having much luck tracking Agent Fluid, chief," another agent said, stifling a yawn. "Boy, am I beat."

"Keep trying," was all Big D said, and he left the room. He went down to the mail room to see how things were going there.

Shawn and FG were sorting through the mail at a frenzied pace. They had been told to leave the singing Impossibles' fan mail alone until further notice, and to look for anything addressed to Big D that didn't have a return address on it. Danalleah was going through her own pile, a bit aimlessly.

"How's it going down here?" Big D asked.

"Nowhere, Big D," Shawn said. "We haven't found anything that even resembles a ransom note."

"But we're looking," FG said. Big D nodded, and glanced over at Danalleah.

"And why are you just sitting there doing nothing?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry, Big D," Danalleah said. "I guess I'm having a hard time concentrating. I'm so worried about Fluey, and . . . ."

"Well, pull yourself together and get busy!" Big D shouted. "We haven't the time for this!"

"Yes sir!" Danalleah shouted, a bit nervously, and she started going through the mail.

"That mother of yours," Big D grumbled. "I don't know _why_ I even bother with you."

And with that, Big D left the mail room, muttering under his breath. The girls just stared at him. They had never seen the chief act like _that_ before.

Big D went back up to his office. Phyllis was at her own computer, trying to dig up some information herself.

"Well?" Big D asked.

"Nothing yet," Phyllis replied.

"Hmph," Big D grumbled. "What is taking that scoundrel so long?"

"I don't know, Big D," Phyllis said. "We could be in for a long wait."

Big D didn't say anything, and he went into his office. He began tuning one of his consoles in order to track down the Shadow. It took him until quitting time, and even then he couldn't find anything!

"'Night, boss," Mike said, leaning into the office. "We'll pick up where we left off in the mornin'."

"Fine," Big D said.

"You gonna stay here all night, chief?"

"Yes."

"Dontcha think you oughta go home and get some sleep?"

"I can handle it, Rogers."

Mike nodded, and left, wondering how in the world Big D was going to manage this. The next morning, Phyllis walked into Big D's office. He was still at his desk, trying to pinpoint the Shadow's whereabouts.

"Didn't you get any sleep at all?" she asked.

"How can you even _think_ of sleeping at a time like this?!" Big D shouted. "Or have you forgotten about your brother already?!"

"Take it easy, chief, it was just a question!" Phyllis shouted.

"Sorry," Big D said. "But this situation with the Shadow is beginning to get to me."

"So I've noticed."

Throughout the entire day, the SSHQ agents continued what they had been doing for the past few days, and they were still coming up with nothing. Multi and Coiley had refueled the Impossi-Jet and went back out to search, but they returned to HQ.

"What are you doing back here?" Big D asked.

"We've combed nearly the entire area," Multi sighed. "There's no trace of either of them anywhere."

"I have an idea, chief," Coiley said. "I remember Danalleah was saying something about contacting someone through mental telepathy. Maybe she can try to reach Fluey that way."

"It's worth a try," Big D said, and he and the two Impossibles went down to the mail room.

"Hi, girls," Multi said. "Have you gotten any leads down here yet?"

"Unfortunately, no," Shawn said with a sigh.

"You wouldn't have happened to find anything addressed to a Davis Dawson, would you?" Coiley asked.

"No, why?" FG said.

"Just curious," Coiley said.

"If you _do_ happen to run across anything like that," Big D said, "let me know immediately."

"Got it, boss," FG said.

"At any rate, ladies, we didn't come down here for an update on the mail," Big D said. "Agent Coil came up with a suggestion on locating Fluid."

"Yeah, remember how you were telling us you were starting to learn channeling and mental telepathy, Danalleah?" Coiley asked. "I thought maybe you could try contacting Fluey that way."

"Oh gosh, Coiley . . . . ." Danalleah said, a little hesitantly. "I don't know. I'm still just a beginner in that area, and . . . ."

"Can't you at least _try_, Danalleah?" Multi asked. "We're getting kind of desperate here."

"Well . . . ." Danalleah said. "All right. Stand back, everybody. I need complete silence, and complete concentration."

Everyone took a couple of steps backward, as Danalleah stood up, and closed her eyes. She put her fingers to her temples, and concentrated as hard as she could. The others watched and waited. Suddenly, Danalleah let out a blood curdling shriek, and then passed out. Multi ran forward and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Danalleah, are you all right?" he asked, as Danalleah began coming to.

"Ooooh, my head . . . . ." she moaned.

"What happened?" Big D asked.

"Too much power . . . . ." Danalleah said, weakly. "Couldn't reach . . . . too far . . . . ."

And with that, Danalleah passed out again.

"Now what in the world is _that_ supposed to mean?" Big D asked, sounding impatient.

"I think she said she used too much power," FG translated. "She couldn't reach Fluey, because she thinks he might be too far out of range."

"We'd better get her up to the infirmary to make sure she's all right," Coiley said.

The others agreed, and they immediately took Danalleah to Dr. Phelps. It was a quick examination, and he came out of the room after about ten minutes.

"She'll be all right," he told the group. "Her magic's going to be out for awhile, but she should be up and around by tomorrow, though she'll probably have quite a headache in the morning."

"Boy, that was a dumb idea," Coiley sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Coiley," Multi said. "It was worth a try."

Big D said nothing, and returned to his office. It was all starting to drive him absolutely out of his mind. There were no clues, no leads, no nothing. The SSHQ agents couldn't find anything that would lead them to the Shadow, and about half of them wanted to throw in the towel.

"Boss, we've looked and we've looked, and we've _looked_!" one agent complained. "He ain't anywhere!"

"Then look again," Big D said. "I'm not a_bout_ to give up on this!"

"But chief, it's near quitting time now. You don't actually expect us to find Fluey in twenty minutes!"

"I don't care what time it is. Get out there and find him!"

The agent shrugged, and left. Big D then pushed a button on his intercom.

"Take a memo, Phyllis," he said.

"Yes sir," Phyllis said, coming into the office with a steno pad and a pencil. She wrote down everything Big D said, and went to type it up.

"The agents aren't going to like this one," Phyllis said, with a sigh, and she began reading the typed copy of the memo.

_To: All Agents_

_ From: Big D_

_ Subject: Search for the Shadow_

_ As you are all aware, it has been four days already and we still haven't found a trace of the Shadow, or Agent Fluid. In order to continue to search adequately, I must require round the clock surveillance, beginning immediately, if not sooner. I want this culprit found and I want him found as soon as possible, and if that means working around the clock twenty-four-seven, then so be it._

Phyllis sighed again, and went to make copies of the memo so she could distribute it to the agents. She was getting a bad feeling about this one.


	9. The Phone Call

Bright and early the next morning, Phyllis went into the chief's outer office in order to get back to work trying to track down the Shadow. The minute she sat down, the door flung open, and in stormed a very irate looking Mike.

"Phyllis, I gotta talk to the chief about this memo!" he shouted.

Before Phyllis could respond, the door flung open again, and one of the younger agents (named Caufield) stormed in, waving a piece of paper.

"I need to speak with the chief about this!" he shouted.

Phyllis was about to respond when three other agents came into the office, all wanting to talk to Big D over the memo. Phyllis pushed a button on her intercom.

"Big D, several agents wish to speak with you about your memo," she said.

"How many?" Big D asked.

"About five," Phyllis said.

"Send them in."

"Okay, fellas, you heard the man," Phyllis said.

And with that, Mike, Agent Caufield, and the other three agents stormed into Big D's office.

"Chief, you gotta be kiddin' about this memo!" Mike shouted.

"Yeah, we _can't_ drop _every_thing!" Agent Caufield shouted. "We've all got personal lives!"

"I'm sorry, men, but I those are my orders. I want that criminal behind bars, and I want Agent Fluid returned to the agency and I want it _now_!"

"But chief, how am I gonna explain this to my daughter?" an agent named Granson asked. "She's in her school play and I promised I'd be there. I can't break a promise like that. She's only seven years old and . . . . ."

"No excuses," Big D said. "I know it's a huge inconvenience, and again, I apologize, but this is the only thing we can do for now. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Chief, I personally think you've flipped," Agent Caufield said. "Several of our agents have gone MIA before. What makes that twerpy Impossible so special?"

"It's a need to know basis," Big D said. "Now get out there and get me that Shadow!"

The agents grumbled and left. For that entire morning, Big D had to deal with nearly the entire agency complaining about this. As Big D was tuning his console his phone rang.

"Hi, chief," an agent named Thurston said, nasally.

"Why aren't you at the office, Thurston?" Big D asked. "I gave strict orders that I needed all hands on deck!"

"I doh, chief, but I got dis bad code," Thurston said, and then sneezed. "I do't thik I'll be cubbig id today."

"But I need all agents available for this case! The Shadow _must_ be caught!"

"Sorry, boss, but if I cub id, I'll ed up givig everybody by code, add thed you wod't have ady agedts at all!"

"All right, all right. But see to it that you can find a way to work from home!"

"Okay, boss."

Big D then slammed the phone down on the hook. Then he got up and stormed to the mail room. The girls were still searching through the mail.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this," Danalleah said. "I'm just so worried about Fluey, I can't think of anything else!"

"I'm sure he's all right," FG said. "He's a fighter. He knows how to handle himself. Nobody can push him around."

"Are you three finished chattering?" Big D asked, coming in. "Less talk, more work."

"We're doing the best we can, Big D," Shawn said. "But we just haven't found anything."

"Then try harder," Big D said. Then he turned to Danalleah. "Maybe the problem is _some_one isn't pulling her weight around here!"

"What do you mean, Big D?" Danalleah asked.

"You're just sitting there idly while the other two are going through the mail," Big D said.

"Well, chief, you can't expect her to concentrate very well," Shawn said, shrugging. "I mean . . . . ."

"Never mind the excuses!" Big D shouted. "Just get back to work!"

Big D then turned to Danalleah, and glared at her.

"Just make sure you keep it together," he said to her. "I don't want to hear about you missing something potentially important because you can't keep your mind in your work! You've already wasted enough of my time with that . . . . . that mental telepathy whatever you call it! I am in no mood to deal with some daydreaming daughter of a convicted criminal!"

Danalleah stared at the chief and took a deep breath, trying to control herself, but it wasn't going to work. She burst into tears, and ran from the room.

"I really don't think that was necessary, chief," Shawn said. "She's just worried about Fluey, and . . . ."

"When I want your opinion, Miss Smith, I will ask for it," Big D said, and he left the mail room. Shawn and FG just looked at each other, and headed for the nearest ladies restroom on that floor. They figured Danalleah would be holed up in one of the stalls.

While all that had been going on, Fluey was still trying to figure out a way out of this prison. It was becoming increasingly harder to concentrate, though. The Shadow hadn't come down to check on his prisoner for four days, and Fluey was starving.

"I gotta get out of here," he said. "I've just got to!"

Fluey braced himself against a wooden crate, and tried to stand up, but he was so tired and hungry, he just couldn't do it. He moaned, and folded his arms on the crate, and rested his head on them.

"What am I going to do?" he asked. "I'll never be able to get out the door. I can't unlock it. And I can't climb up the walls to reach the windows. And they're probably locked, anyway. I don't have my transformer, so I can't change into my superhero alter ego. And I can't call for help, either. I don't have my wrist communicator, and there's nobody on this island except for the Shadow. And nobody at headquarters even knows where I am! I'll never be able to get out of here!"

Just then, Fluey heard the chains on the door rattling, and he looked up. It was about all he could do. The door opened, and the Shadow came down the stairs. Fluey just groaned. The Shadow smirked, and put a bowl filled with some kind of reddish-brown soup in it. And it smelled terrible.

"What the heck is this?" Fluey asked.

"Your rations," the Shadow said.

"Yeccchhh . . . . ."

Even though Fluey was so hungry, he could eat anything, he just couldn't bring himself to eat this foul smelling substance. He didn't know what it was, and he didn't think he wanted to know.

"What's the matter?" the Shadow asked.

"I'm . . . . . . not hungry," Fluey said.

"Really," the Shadow said. "I've kept you down here without food for four days, and you're saying you're not hungry? Now you know I don't believe that."

"Yeah, well . . . . . I'm not hungry enough to eat this slop!"

"We'll just see about that."

"See about _this_!"

Fluey then took the bowl, and flung it right into the Shadow's face. The rancid soup spilled all over the villain, and he screamed, trying to wipe it out of his eyes. While he was busy with that, Fluey managed to stand up, and he raced for the door, but his strength wasn't holding out. He collapsed on the steps, but kept on going anyway, even if he _was_ crawling up the steps on his hands and knees. He reached for the cellar opening, and grabbed the edge, but he let go immediately when he felt a stabbing pain in his hand. He screamed, and pulled his hand back, only to find it was bleeding. Then, he felt the Shadow grab his shoulders, and laugh.

"You silly boy," he said. "You didn't really think you'd be able to escape, did you? You didn't think I was stupid enough to leave the door wide open, did you? I had a feeling you would try to make an attempted escape, and I knew you'd probably use the soup, so I took the liberty of breaking a few glass bottles and setting up some of the shards out there."

The Shadow then dragged Fluey back down the stairs, and threw him into the wall. Then he pulled off Fluey's boots, and began making his way back up the stairs.

"I wouldn't attempt trying to get out now," he said. "I've placed several shards of broken glass around the outside of this house and all over the island. You won't be able to walk without stepping on one."

"You're completely crazy, you know that?!" Fluey shouted, as he tore off a piece of what was left of his shirt, and used it to bandage his hand. The Shadow responded by throwing a bottle at Fluey. He ducked, and the bottle hit the wall, shattering to pieces. Fluey crouched down, and covered his face with his arms to avoid having the shards hit him in the face.

"You'd better learn to have some respect for your elders, little one," the Shadow said.

"Wouldja quit calling me that?!" Fluey shouted. The Shadow threw another glass bottle at him. Once more, Fluey ducked to avoid getting clobbered with it, and the shards resulting from the bottle hitting the wall.

"That's enough out of you!" the Shadow shouted. "You'd better watch yourself, little one. You try me just once more, and I'll be forced to restrain you with barbed wire!"

"All right, already," Fluey said, glaring at the Shadow. "How long are you gonna keep me here?!"

"Why, what's the matter? Don't you like it here?"

"About as much as I like a root canal!"

"That's unfortunate for you, little one. Very unfortunate indeed. You'd better get used to it. Because you're going to be staying down there in my cellar . . . . . for_ever_!"

And with that, the Shadow left the cellar, slamming the doors, and locking them, laughing maniacally. Fluey then pulled his knees up to his chest, being careful of the shattered glass that was surrounding him. He folded his arms on his knees, and rested his head on them, tired, cold, hungry, and hopeless, and also feeling completely helpless. He could feel tears stinging his eyes but he didn't care. More than anything else right now, he wanted to go home, but he knew no one would ever find him.

"Somebody help!" he cried at the top of his voice, even though he knew no one would hear him.

Things weren't much better at the Secret Security Headquarters, either. It was late, and agents not used to pulling all nighters were ready to drop. Many of them couldn't take it.

"Round the clock, he's gotta be kidding!" Agent Caufield shouted. "Phyllis, what is going on with the chief?!"

"I'd like to tell you, but I can't," Phyllis sighed. "Don't hold it against Big D, Caufield. He's been working non-stop since we found the android."

"Why aren't you working, Caufield?" Big D asked, coming out of his office.

"Big D, it's eleven o' clock," Caufield said. "A lot of us are wiped out! We've been working, and working, and working, but we haven't been able to come up with anything! We can't keep this pace up all night!"

"Then learn to," Big D said. "Get back to work!"

"But boss . . . ."

"NOW, CAUFIELD!"

Big D then stormed back into his office and slammed the door. Caufield immediately got back to work, though he was complaining about it.

Big D started pacing his office. He didn't know how much longer he could stand this. He was practically climbing the walls!

"If I don't hear anything soon, I'm going to lose my mind," he grumbled. As he was pacing, the phone suddenly rang. Immediately, Big D snatched it up.

"Hello!" he shouted.

"It's eleven fifteen," a voice on the other end said. "Do you know where your children are?"

"Shadow!" Big D shouted. "Where are you?! What have you done with my grandson?!"

"Found out about my little toy, did you?"

"Where is he, Shadow?!"

"Well, wouldn't you like to know?"

"Now you listen to me, Shadow, if you've harmed that boy in any way, I _swear_ I'm going to . . . ."

"Heh. I'd like to see you try, Dawson."

"Believe me, I will. And I also assume you're calling about a ransom demand?"

"Ransom demand? Oh that's rich, Dawson. That's hilarious!"

"I gave you the ten million you requested."

"Yes, ten million _fake_ bills. I don't know _why_ you thought you could pull one over on _me_, Dawson. But it can't be helped. I just hope you feel your little joke is worth it."

"What are you talking about?"

"When messing with me, Dawson, you pay the price."

"Shadow, leave the boy out of this. It's me you want, not him!"

"Yes, I know, Dawson, I know. But don't you see? I'm getting my revenge on you right now."

"What do you want, Shadow? Whatever it is, I'm willing to pay it. Just release my grandson!"

"I'm afraid it's not going to work that way, Dawson. You can offer me anything you wish, but won't do any good. You're never, _ever_ going to see your grandson again!"

The Shadow laughed maniacally, and hung up. Immediately, Big D began tracing the call. As he was doing that, Phyllis came into the room.

"Chief, we've got a problem!" she shouted.

"Never mind that now!" Big D shouted. "The Shadow was just on the phone. We have _got_ to trace this call! Get Caufield, Granson, and Purvis in here on the double!"

"I can't, chief," Phyllis said, and she began twirling her hair around her finger.

"What do you mean you _can't_?!" Big D shouted. "And for goodness sakes, child, _why_ are you twirling your hair like that?!"

"Well . . . ." Phyllis said, a bit hesitantly. "Agent Caufield told me to tell you . . . . ."

"Yes?"

"They're on strike."


	10. Message in a Bottle

"What do you _mean_ they're on strike?!" Big D yelled. Phyllis jumped back, startled.

"Well . . . ." she started. "They said they weren't going to work under these conditions. A lot of them can't handle these all nighters, and they said until you call this whole thing off and let them do what they normally do, they'll strike."

"Oh for heaven's . . . . ." Big D groaned. "Are _all_ the agents on strike?!"

"No, sir. Coiley, Multi, Skittles, and the girls are still working."

"Well, at least that's _some_thing. Get them in this office as soon as you possibly can. Meanwhile, I'll trace that phone call I received from the Shadow."

"Yes sir!"

Phyllis ran out of the chief's office, and went to her purse to retrieve her compact so she could call Coiley and Multi. While she was doing that, Big D got to work tracing the call he received. While he was waiting for the information, he sat down and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

"I'll get him for this," he said. "He'll pay dearly, I'll see to that!"

Within minutes, Phyllis, FG, Shawn, Danalleah, Coiley, Multi, and Skittles walked into Big D's office. The boys had heard about the strike.

"Group, we have a problem," he said. "The other agents have decided to go on strike."

"So we've noticed," Shawn said.

"I have also received a call from the Shadow and I'm tracing it," Big D continued.

"What were his ransom demands?" Multi asked.

"I'm afraid he didn't give me any," Big D said. A few moments later, Big D's phone rang.

"Yes?" he said. "Yes, where did the call come from? What?! I see. I'm sorry, too."

Big D slammed the phone back on the hook and growled.

"What's the matter, chief?" Multi asked.

"They couldn't trace the call," Big D grumbled.

"Well, I had another idea," Coiley said. "See, once, Danalleah used these dream projections to contact Fluey. It's not like her mental telepathy and . . . ."

"It won't work, Coiley," Danalleah sighed.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Big D said. Phyllis glared at him.

"Why not?" Coiley said. "It's worth a try. Besides, you were able to do it before and . . . . ."

"Because I knew where he was the last time I did them," Danalleah interrupted. "I can only send dream projections to someone if I know where they are."

"Some witch you are," Big D grumbled. "You have been absolutely no help at all in this investigation! All I've seen you do since Fluid's disappearance is mope around and use . . . . . cheap parlor tricks which have failed! You're completely useless as an agent! I have a good mind to fire you!"

"But . . . . but Big D, I . . . ." Danalleah started.

"No buts!" Big D yelled. "If you were any kind of _decent_ witch, we would have found Fluid days ago! Not only are you useless as an agent, you're also useless as a witch!"

Danalleah couldn't stand it any longer. She buried her face in her hands and ran from the office, sobbing hysterically. The others looked at Big D as if he were completely out of his mind.

"I can't believe you said that to her," Multi said.

"I don't think that was necessary," Phyllis said. "How do you expect her to concentrate when her boyfriend is missing, and nobody as any idea where to find him?! She's just as worried about Fluey as the rest of us!"

"I don't have time in this investigation to deal with failures," Big D said.

"Has it ever dawned on you that Danalleah's only fourteen?!" Shawn shouted. "And only _half_ witch?! She's still training! And after what you said to her . . . . . I can see why all the other agents went on strike! Ever since we've started this investigation, you've been a big pain to work with, you realize that?!"

"Uhh, Shawn, you might want to cool it a little," Multi said, but Shawn was already on a roll.

"The only reason _I'm_ not on strike with the rest of them is because Fluey's my friend!" Shawn shouted. "And if you want to fire me after this, that's fine with me, because I don't want to be working for a jerk!"

And with that, Shawn slapped Big D across the face as hard as she could, and stormed out. FG followed. The girls were going to join the strikers. Big D just stood there, not exactly sure what to say. Coiley finally cleared his throat, and spoke up.

"She _does_ have a point, chief," he said. "I mean, we know why you've put us all on duty twenty-four seven, but the other agents don't and . . . . ."

"As I have stated before," Big D said. "I don't want too many people to find out about my relationship with Fluid and Phyllis, because it could only lead to disaster, as this has only proved!"

"But let's face it, chief," Phyllis said, glaring at Big D. "You've become pretty darn unpopular around here. I don't blame the other agents for striking."

"Never mind!" Big D yelled. "You four are the only agents I have left, five if you include the dog. NOW GET BACK TO WORK!"

The foursome left the office. The only reason they weren't joining the strike was because of Fluey. But the stress of the constant searching was starting to take it's toll on them all. But they knew they couldn't give up.

Big D, meanwhile, was taking out some frustrations on his desk, by knocking things off of it. The phone rang as he was pitching a fit, and he immediately grabbed it.

"Yes?!" he yelled.

"My, my, my, aren't we all wound up tonight," an all too familiar voice said.

"The Shadow, no doubt," Big D grumbled.

"That's right. How do you like my untraceable communications?"

"I don't! What do you want from me, Shadow? What do I have to do to get you to release my grandson?"

"What makes you think I _want_ something?"

"Whatever it is you want, you'll get it! I just want my grandson back! Name it, and it's yours!"

"Now what would your former chief say to this, Dawson? Offering me anything I want for just one single person . . . . . tsk, tsk, tsk. For shame, Dawson, for shame."

"Shadow, please . . . . . please, I'm begging you . . . . . name your price! Please, just let my grandson go!"

"Are you . . . . _beg_ging, Dawson?! Oh my word, how _can_ this be possible? The chief of the Secret Security Headquarters _begging_ with the enemy? What kind of chief would _do_ such a thing? Why, when the rest of the organization finds out . . . . . you know this could very well ruin your career!"

Big D bit his lower lip, nervously. The Shadow had him there. He couldn't be_lieve_ he had resorted to begging. _And_ offering the enemy anything he wanted. No chief in the history of the Secret Security Headquarters had stooped that low! Without another word, he hung up the phone, and massaged his forehead with his hand. He had some serious thinking to do.

In the meantime, Fluey was practically going bonkers. He couldn't take it much more. Finally, he decided to just make a break for it, no matter what the cost, but he _had_ to come up with some way to get a message out, if the Shadow managed to catch him, which he figured was a safe bet. Fluey thought it over, and he spotted a case of Coke in the corner. The bottles were full, made of glass, and covered in dust and cobwebs. Fluey didn't care how old they were, or how flat they were, Heck, he didn't care if they were bottled when cocaine was one of the ingredients! He was so thirsty, he could drink anything, and he needed an empty bottle. He opened it, and practically drank the whole bottle in one gulp. Then, he searched the cellar for something to write on, and he found a box, also covered in cobwebs and dust. The box had a picture of the very house he was trapped in, only it didn't look so old and rundown.

"Rosecliff Manor," he read, wiping off the thick layer of dust with his hand. He opened the box and found it full of stationary, as well as some pens.

"Yeah, man!" he shouted. He grabbed a piece of the stationary and a pen, and began writing furiously on it. Once he finished his note, he rolled up the paper, wrote something on it, and stuck it in the bottle. He found a cork, stuck it into the bottle's opening, and glanced at a window. He put the bottle down, and began stacking crates on top of one another in order to reach it. He pushed on it, and, much to his surprise, found it was unlocked!

"Time to make like a banana, and split!" he shouted. He climbed down from the crates, grabbed his bottle, and climbed back up the crates. He remembered what the Shadow had said about placing shards of broken glass all over the island, but he decided to take that risk.

Fluey squeezed through the window easily, considering he hadn't been fed for nearly five days. He had lost a lot of weight as a result of that. Once he was outside, he pulled himself to his feet, and looked around. Sure enough, there were several shards of glass all over the ground. But there weren't any right next to the old house. Fluey pressed his back against the wall, and slowly made his way around, until he reached the back gate. Unfortunately, getting out of there was going to be easier said than done. There were pieces of glass everywhere! There were spaces in between them, but they were pretty small. Fluey gulped, and decided to just take his chances. Carefully, on his toes, he stepped toward the clear spaces, though he was having a hard time keeping his balance. He was beginning to feel dizzy. His hunger had also made him weak. He could barely stand up, but he knew he had to keep going.

"Hold it!" a voice shouted. Fluey was so startled, he tripped and fell to the ground, landing on some of the glass pieces. He leaned up, despite the pain, and looked over his shoulder. There was the Shadow, coming out the back door of the house.

Fluey didn't waste any time. Despite everything, he got up, and began running, even though he knew he was practically cutting his feet to shreds (figuratively). He just _had_ to escape. The Shadow gave chase, and Fluey ducked out the back gate, slamming it it behind him. The Shadow, not expecting it, crashed right into the closed gate.

"ACK!" he shouted. "Oooh, wait'll I get my hands on you!"

Fluey continued to run. He remembered where the boat house was, and he figured the Shadow's speedboat was still there. He ran down to the beach, and was about to head for the boat house, when everything began spinning, and he sunk to his knees. He caught his breath, and began crawling toward the boat house. He suddenly heard a loud CRACK! And something hit him in the back. Fluey let out a scream, and he collapsed.

"Do you disobey authority at the Secret Security Headquarters, too?" the Shadow asked. Fluey just moaned. The Shadow pulled him up, and started to drag him back to the manor. Fluey held the Coke bottle, and threw it as hard as he could into the water. The Shadow merely scoffed.

"Oh please, like _that's_ ever going to work!" he laughed, and he dragged Fluey back to the manor, and threw him back into the cellar.

Fluey moaned, and managed to sit up, but it took quite an effort. He looked over his injuries, just to see how bad they were. The cuts on his feet were the worst, and he had some puncture wounds on his arms and chest when he had tripped and landed on the shards. Thankfully, they weren't as bad as they looked, and neither were the cuts on his feet he noticed, when he used a piece of his shirt to try to clean himself up a little. Within moments, the cellar door opened, and Fluey tensed. But no one came down. Instead, a rock the size of a softball flew down into the cellar and hit Fluey right in the head, causing a large gash right above his eyebrow. Another rock came hurtling down, and this time, it hit Fluey in the shoulder. Then, the Shadow came down the stairs, holding a pole of sorts in his hand. He put it down, grabbed Fluey's arm, and flung him into the wall as hard as he could. Fluey groaned as he crashed into it. The Shadow then took hold of Fluey's shoulders, and began slamming him into the wall as hard as he could. Fluey fell to the floor in a heap, too dazed to even move. Then the Shadow retrieved his pole. Fluey managed to sit up, and he looked over at the Shadow. Then he noticed what was on the end of the pole. It looked like a circle with a lightning bolt and a backward letter S on it that went through the bolt. And to top it off, it was glowing a yellow-orangish color, and steam was rising from it. Fluey gasped when the realization hit, and he began to back away nervously.

"No . . . . no, please . . . . ." he begged, as he backed up. "Please, anything but that! No, no, no!"

Fluey suddenly backed himself into a corner, and there was no way out. The Shadow approached him slowly, laughing evilly. No matter how much Fluey begged, pleaded, and screamed, the Shadow kept right on coming toward him.

The next morning at the Secret Security Headquarters, Big D called a meeting of the agency. Every agent was there, and there was a lot of grumbling going on. The chief decided to ignore the grumbling. He took his gavel and banged it on the podium.

"May I have your attention, please!" he shouted, and he waited until everyone quieted. "I've called this meeting to discuss the Shadow case. First, I would like to apologize for my irrational behavior. The case was causing me nothing but stress, and it was no excuse to take it out on my agents. I also apologize for dropping the round the clock order the way I did. I would also like to take this time to make a few very important announcements. As of this moment, I am dropping all agents from the Shadow assignment, except for Agents Coil and Multi, because knowing them, they'll still want to continue the search."

"He's dropping the case?" Coiley asked like he couldn't believe it.

"Secondly, I've done a lot of thinking," Big D continued. "My actions these past few days were not for the good of the agency, having every agent on the payroll drop everything for one single agent."

"You don't think he's going to reveal his family secret, do you?" Multi asked, nervously.

"I think he is," Phyllis said. She jumped up and suddenly ran onto the stage. Once she reached it, she grabbed Big D's arm, and yanked him away from the podium.

"Are you off your rocker?!" she hissed. "You can't tell them Fluey's your grandson!"

"I'm afraid I have to," Big D said, putting his hands on his granddaughter's shoulders. "It's time the agency knew."

"But you said yourself that if too many people knew, even the other agents here . . . . ."

"My dear, it has come to the point where things must change. You're just going to have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Phyllis sighed, and gave in. Big D planted a little kiss on her forehead, and went back to the podium. The entire agency saw that, and began talking at once, wondering what was going on. Big D banged the gavel on the podium to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Secret Security Headquarters," he said once everything was quiet. "What I am about to tell you will most definitely shock and surprise you, but it can _not_ leave this room under _any_ circumstances! You are all sworn to secrecy of this matter."

"What's goin' on, chief?" Mike asked.

"You're not gonna tell us there's truth to that rumor about you having a fling with your gal Friday, are ya?" Agent Caufield asked.

"No," Big D said. "There is _no_ truth to the rumor that I'm having a 'fling' as you put it, with my secretary. I find it extremely disgusting that I would be romantically involved with my own granddaughter."

"Your own _what_?!" Reggie shouted.

"_Grand_daughter?!" Mike yelled. There was a lot of talking at once over that revelation. Of course, Coiley and Multi remained silent.

"How come you two aren't surprised at this?" Agent Granson asked them.

"They already knew," Big D said. "And I will explain how come they already knew."

"Somethin's tellin' me we're gonna get an even bigger surprise," Mike said.

"Most of you all know that my son, Jackson, was an agent of the organization," Big D said. "And that he was gunned down by Antonio Manikatti sixteen years ago. I know a lot of you younger agents aren't aware of that, but I _do_ know all of you are aware of the events that happened with Manikatti recently."

"Yeah, when Fluey went searching for his real parents after you told him not to," another agent piped up. "So what?"

"My son Jackson was Agent Fluid's birth father," Big D said, bluntly. "Therefore, Agent Fluid is my grandson. And Phyllis and Agents Coil and Multi were with me when the discovery was made."

A stunned silence fell over the auditorium. No one could think of anything to say. Finally, Agent Caufield stood up.

"Chief . . . . ." he started. "Why didn't you tell us that when this whole mess with the Shadow got started?"

"Security reasons," Big D said. "I didn't want too many people to find out about it, but somehow, the Shadow did. And I was reluctant to tell anyone else due to the fact that if too many agents knew . . . . ."

"Yeah, but if you'd only _told_ us he was your grandkid, we wouldn't have complained so much about the assignment!" Caufield shouted.

"He's right, chief," Agent Granson said. "I mean, a lot of us here have kids!"

"And some of us have grandkids," an older agent said.

"And you know a lot of us would drop _every_thing for our kids if one wound up missing," Dr. Phelps pointed out. The other agents agreed. Big D then banged his gavel on the podium to get everyone's attention.

"What's done is done," he said. "I'm afraid I let things get out of hand with this case by keeping secrets and making bad decisions. I would like to take this moment to announce my retirement . . . . ."

Voices exploded everywhere, all voicing their disapproval of Big D's retirement. Nobody wanted him to retire! Before Big D could say anything about it, the alarm on his wrist communicator began going off. Big D activated it, and saw a security guard on the screen. Security had been told not to interrupt the meeting unless it was important.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but Agent Multi's sister is here, and she says she has to talk to you," the guard said. "She says it's pretty important."

"What's Windy doing here?" Multi asked. His older sister _never_ dropped in at Headquarters!

"Only one way to find out," Big D said, banging his gavel. "Meeting adjourned for now. All agents return to normal duty. Coil, Multi, and Phyllis, come with me."

Everyone immediately went back to what they were doing before Big D had everyone searching for Fluey and the Shadow, while Big D, Phyllis, and the two Impossibles went to the building's main lobby. They found Multi's sister, Windy, standing there, holding an old Coke bottle in her hands.

"Okay, Windy, what are you doing here?" Multi asked.

"I was on the beach with my friends," Windy said, handing the bottle to Big D. "We were all swimming when I hit my foot on something. I thought it was a rock or something, so I reached down to see, and I came up with this bottle. I managed to read it, and it was addressed to Big D at the Secret Security Headquarters, and it looked like Franky's handwriting, so I thought I should bring it in."

"Did you read it?" Big D asked.

"No sir," Windy said.

Big D pulled the cork out of the bottle, and retrieved the letter inside of it. Coiley and Multi looked over his shoulder as the chief unrolled it.

"That's Fluey's handwriting all right," Coiley said. "I'd recognize it anywhere!"

Big D looked over the letter, as did the other two Impossibles. It said,

_Chief, you've got to help me! I'm being held on some island or another in this run down old manor house. He's keeping me locked up in the cellar and he's been torturing me! I don't know how much longer I can stand this. Please HELP!_

"Rosecliff Manor," Big D said, looking at the letterhead on the paper. "I know where that is. It's located on Rosecliff Island."

"What is Rosecliff Manor?" Coiley asked.

"It used to be a popular bed and breakfast," Big D said. "I used to vacation there. But a severe hurricane all but destroyed the island over twenty years ago. It's a very secluded place, not on any map."

"Don't worry, Big D," Multi said. "We'll find it in no time!"

"I'm sure of that," Big D said. "Because I will be accompanying you. I owe the Shadow something for all this trouble."

"I'm coming too," Phyllis said. "And don't you _dare_ say no, Big D! The way I'm feeling right now, he wouldn't _dare_ mess with me!"

"There's no time to argue," Big D said, and he turned to Windy. "Miss Mills, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Most would just ignore it."

"Well, I know how crazy it's been," Windy said. She (along with the rest of Multi's family, as well as Coiley's family) already knew Big D's family secret. "Good luck, you guys!"

"Thanks, Sis!" Multi shouted, and he, Coiley, Big D, Phyllis, and Skittles raced to the Impossi-Jet. They didn't have a moment to spare.


	11. Attempted Rescue

Fluey moaned, as he began coming to his senses. He was sprawled out on the floor, flat on his back. It hurt too much to move. He reached his hand up, and rubbed the sore spot on his chest, right by his left shoulder. He grimaced as he felt the scar, left there by the Shadow when he had used that hot branding iron on him. The Shadow had burned his insignia into Fluey's skin, and Fluey wasn't sure if it was the physical pain from that hurt the most, or the psychological pain. Fluey leaned more toward the psychological pain.

_You're mine, now_, the Shadow had said after he plunged the hot metal against Fluey's chest. _This symbol shows it_.

A possession. The Shadow was treating him like some sort of inanimate object. Fluey really resented that. The Shadow didn't care that he was in pain. He didn't care if Fluey starved to death. He didn't care about anything except revenge against Big D.

_You'll never see your grandfather again_, the Shadow's words echoed through his ears. _You're going to remain here forever! Consider this your new home!_

Fluey squeezed his eyes shut, and covered his ears with his hands, trying to block out the maniacal laughter ringing in his ears. He finally couldn't take it anymore, and he let out a loud and long shriek. Then he heard the cellar door open, and he saw the Shadow coming down the stairs. Fluey didn't move. He was too weak.

"You screamed?" the Shadow asked.

"Please . . . ." Fluey said. "Please . . . . let me go . . . . . I just want to go home!"

"No can do, little one. You belong to me now. That mark on your chest proves it."

"He'll come . . . . I know Big D . . . . . will come for me . . . ."

"Give it up. He's not going to come for you. He'll never find out where you are. I have him reduced to nothing more but a shell of his former self, keeping you here. It must be driving him absolutely mad not knowing where you are, hoping beyond hope that you're all right, but living in great fear that you aren't."

"He'll . . . . . never let you . . . . get away with it! Big D won't give up! He won't!"

"Stubborn little brat, aren't you? I've just about had enough of you in_sis_ting your fool grandfather will come for you!"

"I know he will! Big D _will_ come, and he'll give you _exactly_ what's coming to you, you low down, dirty, slimy . . . . ."

The Shadow then gave Fluey a good, hard kick to the stomach. Then he pulled the teenager to his feet, and punched him in the face, then slammed him into the wall. Then he flung Fluey onto the floor, and hit him in the back of the head with one of those old Coke bottles. Fluey moaned in pain. He couldn't get up. The Shadow snickered and began tying Fluey's wrists behind his back so tightly, the ropes actually started cutting into his skin. The Shadow also tied his ankles equally tight as well. Then he pulled out a thick cloth and tied it over Fluey's mouth as tightly as he could. Fluey desperately tried to scream for help, but the gag silenced his attempts. The Shadow just snickered, and picked up a nearby hammer.

"Pleasant nightmares, little one!" he shouted, and he gave Fluey a whack in the back of the head with the hammer, hard enough to knock him out cold, but not hard enough to kill him. Then, he tossed the hammer aside, and went back up the stairs, locking the cellar doors behind him.

Meanwhile, Coiley flew the Impossi-Jet over the ocean letting their onboard computer lead them to Rosecliff Island. The trackers began beeping when they approached it.

"I think we're picking up something, boss," Multi said. "Is that the island down there?"

Big D looked over the side of the jet at the piece of land below. There were no other islands in the nearby facility.

"No wonder we couldn't find Fluey," Phyllis commented. This place is out in the middle of nowhere! Just water as far as the eye can see."

"Precisely why I've used it as a vacation spot," Big D said. "Before the hurricane, that is."

Skittles began barking, and she did her pointer routine toward the island (_poing!_)

"This is _def_initely the island we're looking for," Big D said, giving Skittles a pat on the head.

"Take 'er down, Coiley," Multi said.

"Roger, Multi!" Coiley shouted.

"There should be enough room to land on the beach," Big D said.

"Got it, chief," Coiley said. He brought the Impossi-Jet down on the beach, and the group climbed out of the jet. Skittles barked three times, back flipped, and changed into her identity as Impossi-Pup.

"Good thinking, girl," Multi said, taking out his transformer. Coiley did the same, and he and Multi pushed the buttons on them, transforming themselves into their superhero identities.

"We'll need to be ready for anything!" Coiley shouted.

Big D certainly agreed with that logic, and the group walked on, as Skittles sniffed around.

"Watch yourself, Impossi-Pup," Coiley said. "There are shards of glass all over the place!"

"Yipe!" Skittles yipped, as a small piece of the broken glass pricked her in the nose. She recovered quickly, and continued sniffing around. After a few seconds, she stopped, barked, and did her pointer routine (_poing!_)

"Atta girl," Multi said, coming over. "Let's see what we've got here."

"Frantic feedback!" Coiley shouted, and he started to feel a bit queasy. "It's . . . . it's a trail of . . . ."

"Blood," Phyllis finished his sentence, feeling a bit ill herself. "I hope it doesn't mean what I think it means!"

"I don't even want to _know_ what you think it means!" Coiley shouted. Skittles began whimpering nervously.

"I hope we're not too late," Multi said, and he picked up his dog, and followed the trail, followed by the others.

The trail led to an old, weather beaten, broken down house at the top of the hill, with a rusty gate. The plaque on the gate read "Rosecliff Manor."

"This is it," Big D said. "And it's certainly not as I remember it. Come along. Fluid's note said he was locked in the cellar."

Multi put Skittles down, and she began sniffing about. Then she barked and took off running. The others ran after her, and found her standing at the cellar, trying to rip the chains of the door with her teeth.

"Wait a minute, sweetie," Phyllis said, picking up the puppy, and handing her to Multi. "You'll only hurt yourself that way."

"I know how to get in," Multi said, handing Skittles to Coiley. "Got a hair pin on you, Phyllis?"

"Right here," Phyllis said, pulling a bobby pin out of her hair. Multi stuck it in the lock, and began maneuvering it, until it clicked open.

"Where did you learn to pick locks, Multi?" Big D asked.

"My sister," Multi said. "Her diary has a lock on it, so I figured out how to break into it."

Big D merely shook his head over that one. It was, after all, typical brotherly/sisterly love. In any case, the group started down the stairs. They found spots of blood in various parts of the room.

"Skittles, go back to the Impossi-Jet and find the first aid kit," Multi said. "We might need it."

Skittles barked, saluted, and ran off using her super speed. She returned about five seconds later, carrying the requested first aid kit in her mouth. The group looked around the cellar some more.

"It's hard to see down here," Phyllis said.

"Fluey!" Coiley called. "Hey, Fluey, are you in here?"

The group then heard a soft moan coming from a corner of the cellar, and they immediately ran to it. They found Fluey laying on his side on the floor, unconscious, bruised, bleeding, and bound and gagged. Immediately, Phyllis pulled her nail file out of her purse and began sawing away at the ropes around Fluey's wrists. Once they snapped off, she began cutting the ropes around his ankles. Skittles whimpered and nudged Fluey with her nose. Big D walked over, and carefully lifted his torso.

"We should work quickly," he said. "Are there any bandages in the first aid kit?"

"Plenty," Coiley said. "We'll take it from here, chief."

Big D merely nodded. He held Fluey while Multi and Coiley got to work bandaging his wrists and ankles. The minute they were finished, Fluey's eyelids began to twitch. He moaned, and slowly opened his eyes. He was able to make out the chief and his friends standing over him, but he wasn't sure if he was really seeing this or if he was hallucinating.

"Chief?" he asked, weakly. "Is . . . . . is it really you?"

"Yes, Fluid," Big D said. "It's really us. We're really here."

Fluey suddenly shot up, and threw his arms around Big D's chest, and leaned his head on the chief's shoulder. The tears he had been trying to control since the Shadow had been torturing him began falling like raindrops, but he didn't care. Big D was a little taken aback, mainly because he could clearly feel Fluey's ribcage. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around Fluey's shoulders, and held him close.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Fluey cried. "He . . . . he kept saying you'd never find me, and I was starting to believe him! And . . . . and I was trying to escape, but he caught me every time, and . . . . and that's when he started torturing me, and . . . ."

"Calm down, it's all right," Big D said, stroking the back of his hair. "You're in safe hands now. Just take it easy, you'll be all right."

"How did you guys find me?" Fluey asked, as he turned his head toward his friends.

"My sister found your bottle," Multi said. "And she brought it to Big D."

"The paper you used had this place right on it," Coiley said.

Big D then slowly started to lay Fluey back down so he could get a better look at his grandson's injuries. The minute he got Fluey down on the floor, he saw the Shadow's insignia on his chest. Fluey noticed this, and tried to cover the scar with his hand, but it was too late. Big D moved his grandson's hand away, and Coiley, Multi, and Phyllis saw the insignia as well.

"Glittering guitars!" Multi shouted.

"The mark of the Shadow," Big D said. He sounded like he was spitting out those words as if they tasted bad. He took some gauze from the first aid kit and placed over the burn mark, holding it there with medical tape. Then, he began bandaging the rest of Fluey's open cuts, all in silence. Fluey just lay there. He was too weak to even move. Once Big D was finished, he lifted his grandson into his arms, and carried him toward the stairs.

"What _has_ that . . . . that _wretch_ been doing to you?" he asked.

"Mostly hitting me with a belt," Fluey said. "And he hit me a couple of times with a whip. And he set up all those shards of glass and took my boots so I wouldn't escape, but . . . ."

"You tried it anyway," Coiley said.

"Uh huh," Fluey said, nodding.

"You poor thing," Phyllis said, stroking his hair. "Look at you, you're so thin! Hasn't he been feeding you?"

"No," Fluey said.

"What about that mark on your chest, by your shoulder?" Multi asked. "How did that get there?"

"He . . . . ." Fluey said, a bit hesitantly. This was still burned in his mind, and he wanted it gone.

"He what?" Big D asked. "I want to know _exactly_ how that mark got there, Fluid."

"He . . . ." Fluey began again. "He had this hot branding iron, and he . . . . . he just . . . . and after that, he . . . . he started saying that I belonged to him because of this symbol, and . . . . . and . . . . ."

Fluey couldn't go on. He was too overcome by the memory of the incident, and the Shadow's words. The others just stood there with shocked looks on their faces. Big D looked positively furious. He even looked _beyond_ furious, if that's even possible.

"That . . . . . that . . . ." he began, trying to think of just the right word that described the Shadow, but he couldn't think of one that fit. Not even the foulest use of profanity would do it!

"I'd call him a slimy sewer rat, but that's too good a name for him," Phyllis said.

"I'd like to get my hands on that creep," Multi said. "I just can't believe _any_one would be so cruel as to actually _brand_ someone like they were a farm animal!"

"Don't remind me," Fluey said. Then he closed his eyes, let out a moan, rested his head on Big D's shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep. Phyllis began brushing his hair out of his face, when she realized something.

"Chief," she said. "We can't stick around and look for the Shadow. We've got to get Fluey back home and fast!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Coiley asked. Big D then placed his hand against Fluey's forehead, and glanced at the others.

"He's burning up," he said. "We need to return to headquarters this instant!"

"What about the Shadow?" Multi asked.

"This is more important," Big D said. "I'm not sure how long some of these wounds have been left untreated, and I don't want this fever to get any worse than it is now."

Multi and Coiley agreed with that, and the group began hurrying up the stairs, but they stopped immediately when a gunshot rang out, and blasted through the window of the cellar. Phyllis let out a panicked scream as the glass shattered. Big D dared to look and saw the Shadow standing before the group holding a smoking gun. Big D glared at the criminal, and held Fluey close to him.

"Nobody is going anywhere," the Shadow said.

"Stay back, Shadow," Big D said. "I am _not_ in the mood to be trifled with."

"I must admit, I didn't think the old message in the bottle routine would work," the Shadow said, still aiming his gun. "But apparently it did. This kid's smarter than I anticipated. I didn't think you'd show up, Dawson, I really didn't."

"What made you think I wouldn't?" Big D asked, he backed down the stairs for a moment, and put Fluey down on the floor. Then he turned to Phyllis, Skittles, and the two Impossibles.

"Watch him," he said. The others nodded, while Big D started to go back up the stairs toward the Shadow.

"I should tear you limb from limb, Shadow," he said, going right up to his enemy. He then grabbed the Shadow by his shirt collar, and pulled. The Shadow was a bit surprised.

"I have a good mind to do to you _exactly_ what you have put my grandson through," Big D growled, through clenched teeth.

"You wouldn't, Dawson," the Shadow said.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

"I'll give you five."

Before Big D could even react, the Shadow punched him in the stomach as hard as he could, and then socked him in the jaw, causing him to fall down the stairs, knocking the wind out of him.

"Chief!" Coiley shouted.

The Shadow laughed, and fired his gun at the others, but not aiming right at them. He wanted them to scatter a bit, and they did. The Shadow then went down the stairs, and picked up Fluey, who was still out like a light. Immediately, Phyllis charged, and started pounding on the Shadow's shoulder.

"You . . . . . you . . . . . you creepasaurus rex!" she yelled.

"Now _what_ kind of insult is _that_?!" the Shadow asked, giving Phyllis an odd look.

"Haven't you done enough to that boy already?!" Phyllis yelled.

"Back off, Blondie!" the Shadow shouted, and he hauled off and punched Phyllis right in the face, bruising her cheek. The chief regained his senses just in time to see Phyllis take the hit. She stumbled backwards, and fell to the floor. Multi and Coiley ran to her to make sure she was all right. The Shadow used that moment to make his escape.

"Hey!" Multi shouted. "He's getting away!"

"And he's taking Fluey with him!" Coiley yelled.

"After him!" Big D shouted.

"Rally ho!" the two Impossibles called out, and they ran up the stairs of the cellar, but found no trace of the Shadow.

"He just disappeared!" Phyllis shouted.

"The story of his life," Big D grumbled. "If he does any more harm to Fluid, I _swear_, I'll . . . . ."

Skittles suddenly started barking loudly, and she went into her pointer bit again (_poing!_)

"He went that way, girl?" Multi asked. Skittles nodded, and barked, and then she began running in the direction she had pointed. The others followed her.

It took awhile, but Skittles led the group into the island's wooded area, and up a steep hill. It was at the top of this hill where they found the Shadow, standing at the edge of a cliff, holding a still unconscious Fluey in his arms. At the bottom of the cliff, waves from the ocean were pounding into sharp, jagged rocks.

"I thought you'd never get here," he said.

"I'm warning you, Shadow, let the boy go," Big D said.

"I'll let him go, all right," the Shadow said, inching closer to the edge of the cliff. "Right over the edge of this cliff!"

"No!" Phyllis shrieked.

"You unscrupulous swine," Big D growled. "Leave my grandson out of this! It's me you want!"

"I don't think so," the Shadow said. "I don't want to kill you, Dawson."

"What do you want, then, Shadow? I'm tired of this game of yours!"

"I want you to stand there and watch, as I throw your precious grandson to his death!"


	12. The Race to St Mercys

The group just stood there, too stunned to move. They had to do some pretty fast thinking. They knew nothing was going to stop the Shadow from throwing Fluey off that cliff. THe Shadow snickered, and was about ready to drop the dark-haired Impossible, when something smashed directly into him, hitting him below the belt as hard as possible (if you get my drift). He stumbled backwards, away from the edge, and dropped Fluey onto the ground. The jolt caused the teenager to stir a bit, and he began to wake up, though only to a semi-conscious state.

"Ooooohh . . . . ." he moaned. "Wh . . . . what happened?"

"Looks like Impossi-Pup strikes again," Multi said with a laugh.

"Are you all right, Fluey?" Coiley asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Fluey replied, then he started coughing a little.

"Come on," Big D said, walking over to his grandson. "We've got to get you to a doctor."

But before Big D could do anything, he felt himself getting socked in the jaw, and hard. He ended up being knocked off balance. The Shadow cackled madly, and was about to give Big D a punch to the gut, when Big D sprang to his feet, and kicked the Shadow in the stomach, karate style.

"Why you . . . . ." the Shadow started, and he and Big D began brawling with each other.

"Now's our chance!" Coiley shouted. He, Multi, and Phyllis raced over to Fluey and pulled him to his feet, though he was very unsteady.

"I can't make it," Fluey moaned. "I . . . . I can barely move."

"Come on, Multi, give me a hand," Phyllis said, as she positioned one of Fluey's arms around her shoulders. Multi did the same thing, and the two of them lifted Fluey's legs off the ground.

"Let's move!" Coiley shouted.

The group began to head for the Impossi-Jet, when a gunshot rang out from apparently out of nowhere. Multi and Phyllis were so startled, they accidently dropped Fluey.

"Oooh!" Fluey groaned, as he hit the ground.

"Never underestimate me, my young friends," the Shadow said, aiming his gun at Multi and Phyllis.

"And never underestimate the Impossibles!" Multi shouted. "Rally ho!"

Multi then duplicated, and surrounded the Shadow, suspecting him to begin shooting at the duplicates, which would give the original a chance to get Fluey to the Impossi-Jet. Instead, the Shadow held his gun, and aimed it at a nearby tree branch, causing it to snap off, and hit the original Multi on the head.

BONK!

Thankfully, Multi wasn't knocked out by the blow, but he _was_ pretty dazed.

"Rally ho!" Coiley shouted, springing forward. The Shadow merely side stepped him, and Coiley ended up crashing head first into another tree. The Shadow merely laughed, and approached Phyllis and Fluey. Phyllis wrapped her arms around her half-brother, and held him close, protectively.

"Don't you _dare_!" she shouted.

"Get out of my way, wench!" the Shadow yelled, and he grabbed Phyllis by the hair, yanked her away from Fluey, and threw her to the ground.

"Hey, you can't do that to her!" Fluey shouted. The Shadow didn't respond. He just grabbed Fluey, and clamped his hand over his mouth.

"And you keep quiet!" he shouted. "Let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere but prison, Shadow!" Big D shouted.

"Oh no?" the Shadow asked, and he held up his gun, ready to fire it. Big D performed a karate move, and managed to kick the gun right out of the Shadow's hand. It flew through the air, and fell down the cliff.

"That should even the odds a little," Big D said. "This doesn't have to get ugly Shadow. Let the boy go this instant!"

"Why should I?" the Shadow asked. "Don't you get it, Dawson? This is the perfect revenge! The Syndicate took your son from you, and now I intend to take your grandson from you, right before your eyes, too! I can only imagine what you went through when your son was killed. If the chief isn't able to function, then the rest of the Secret Security Headquarters will fall apart. Let's face it, Dawson. You're weak. You're nothing but an old softy! You'll _never_ get the best of me! You let your emotions get in the way of everything! Don't you understand you can't have emotions when you're the chief of a government organization? I've already destroyed the Secret Security Headquarters! Now I'll destroy you!"

"If you're going to destroy me, then just kill _me_," Big D growled. "Murder _me_, do whatever you wish to _me_! But leave my grandson out of this."

"Now isn't that noble? You're willing to sacrifice yourself for the child. You're telling me you'd rather die than watch your grandson die?"

Fluey couldn't take any more of this. He had to do something. The trouble was he felt like he didn't have any strength left. But he _did_ have an idea, and he knew it would work, and it wouldn't take all that much strength, anyway. He bit the Shadow in the hand as hard as he possibly could.

"Eeeeyyyouuuuuch!" the Shadow shrieked, ultimately letting go of Fluey. Big D started to run to his grandson, but the Shadow blocked him off, and , belted him in the stomach as hard as he could. Then he turned to Fluey, and glared at him.

"You've got a lot of spirit, squirt," he said. Then he picked up a huge tree branch. "Too bad I'm gonna break it. Not to mention you!"

"No!" Big D yelled, but the Shadow hit Fluey over the head with the tree branch as hard as he could, knocking the teenager out cold. The Shadow raised the stick again, and prepared to bash Fluey's head in, when Impossi-Pup zoomed in and grabbed the other end of the stick in her teeth.

"What the . . . ." the Shadow started. "Let go, you little pipsqueak before I . . . ."

"Touch that dog, and you're dead," Big D replied. "It may not occur to you Shadow, but do you realize _I'm_ the one with the advantage?"

"You? _You_ have the advantage?! And whatever may that advantage be, Dawson?"

"Us!" Multi, Coiley, and Phyllis shouted, lining up next to Big D.

"You're outnumbered, Shadow," Big D said. "And, as you have witnessed, I have a one man army right here."

"If you want to get your grimy mitts on Fluey, then you're gonna have to go through _us_!" Phyllis shouted.

"And believe me, Shadow," Big D said. "You do _not_ want to get karate'd by my granddaughter. Especially when she's wearing high heels."

"Oh?" the Shadow scoffed. "And why is that?"

"Hiyah!" Phyllis shouted, giving the Shadow a kick right in the you-know-what, and she happened to be wearing high heels, and she jammed the heel right into the Shadow's you-know-what.

"Okay," the Shadow said (or rather squeaked). "I get the point. Literally."

The Shadow then stood up straight, and looked at Big D. Then he pulled a knife out of his coat, grabbed an unconscious Fluey, and held the knife at his neck.

"But don't forget one little thing," he said. "He belongs to _me_!"

"For heavens sakes, Shadow, you can _not _take possession of a human being as if he were an inanimate object!" Big D yelled. The Shadow began backing up, taking Fluey with him. Big D started coming forward.

"If you wish him dead, Dawson, just keep right on coming," the Shadow said, taking a couple of steps back.

"Shadow, stop making useless threats," Big D said, coming closer. "If I were you, I'd watch where I was backing up."

"Nice try, Dawson, but I'm too smart to fall for thaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

While the Shadow had been backing up, he ended up backing right off the side of the cliff. Thankfully, Big D had grabbed Fluey before the Shadow fell. The Shadow was now hanging by a tree branch a few feet below, and the branch was beginning to break.

"This isn't over yet, Dawson!" he shouted. "I'll get you for this!"

"As much as I hate to say it, we're going to have to bring him up," Big D said.

"Yeah, that's the problem with being a good guy," Coiley said. "Sometimes, you even have to save the bad guys."

"Hang on, Shadow!" Multi shouted. "We'll get you up here in no time!"

But before anyone could do anything, the branch the Shadow was holding onto snapped completely, and he plummeted.

"I'll get you, Dawson!" he shouted as he fell. "I'll get yoooooouuuuuuu!"

Phyllis, Skittles, and the two Impossibles looked over the side of the cliff, and watched as the Shadow fell, screaming. Then, he disappeared, and there was silence. The only thing that was heard was the waves crashing into the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

"Do you think he's still alive?" Phyllis asked.

"Are you kidding?" Coiley said. "_Nobody_ could survive a fall like that!"

"If anyone could, it would be the Shadow," Big D said, lifting Fluey into his arms, and holding him close. "Agent Coil, you and Phyllis remain here on the island for the time being. Agent Multi, you come with me. Phyllis, I want you to alert headquarters and send for back up to search for the Shadow. Once back up arrives, Coil, you and Phyllis return to Megatropolis using that speedboat of the Shadow's. If he _is_ still alive after that fall, he may try to escape the island. And Multi, I want you to pilot that jet of yours faster than you have ever piloted it before to get to St. Mercy's Hospital as fast as you possibly can."

"Right, chief!" Multi shouted, and he and Big D raced for the Impossi-Jet. Skittles followed them.

Once they reached the car, Multi climbed into the front while Skittles took the middle seat, and Big D climbed in the back, still holding his unconscious grandson. Big D put his hand to the teenager's forehead, and sighed.

"How is he, chief?" Multi asked.

"Not well," Big D replied, grimly. "We _must_ get him to the hospital fast."

"Say no more, boss."

Multi started up the Impossi-Jet, and blasted off. Impossi-Pup decided to give the jet some more speed by using her tail as a propeller to fly herself out to the back of the jet. Then she started running with her hind legs while pushing the back of the jet with her front legs. They reached the landing pad of St. Mercy's Hospital in record time. A medical team was waiting for them (Multi had called in on the Impossi-Jet's radio). The hospital staff put Fluey on a gurney and immediately took him inside. Multi and Big D were told to wait in the waiting room, but Multi decided to stay in the Impossi-Jet with Skittles (the hospital wouldn't allow animals inside).

After what seemed like forever, a doctor finally came into the waiting room and approached Big D.

"Mr. Davis Dawson?" he asked. Big D had given the hospital staff his real name, as well as Fluey's real name (or at least the name Fluey's adoptive parents gave him).

"Yes," Big D said, standing up. "How is my grandson?"

"It's about fifty-fifty right now," the doctor said, leading Big D down a hallway. "He's suffering from a very bad case of pneumonia, some of the cuts we found were infected, we found a piece of glass in his right foot, but we managed to pull it out. We performed several X-Rays, and there aren't any internal injuries, though we're looking at a concussion, and a minor skull fracture. He _is_ breathing, but barely, and we're also treating him for shock. His fever is much too high, and his blood pressure is very low. We're working to remedy this."

Big D said nothing as the doctor led him into a small room. Fluey was laying in bed, still unconscious. He had an oxygen mask over his face, and bandages on both his arms, and hands, and one around his head, too. He was hooked up to several IV's, as well as a ventilator, and a monitor.

"We're going to do everything we can for your grandson, Mr. Dawson," the doctor said. "The only thing we can do right now, though, is wait. I suggest you go home and let Franklin rest."

"If it's all the same to you, doctor," Big D said, "I'd rather stay with him. I don't want him to panic if he wakes up and finds himself in a strange room, and strangers prodding at him."

The doctor nodded, and then left. Big D sighed, and pulled up a chair. He sat down, and took his grandson's hand. As he sat there, he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw Phyllis, Multi, and Coiley standing there. Skittles was inside Phyllis's purse. She peeked out, and whimpered.

"You could get into trouble if the doctors find out you brought the dog in here," Big D said.

"I know, but we had to come in and find out if Fluey was okay," Phyllis said.

"I'm afraid he isn't," Big D sighed, and he told Phyllis and the two Impossibles what the doctor had told him.

"Is he going to be okay?" Coiley asked, worriedly.

"We don't know yet," Big D replied. "All we can do for now is wait. What's the situation with the Shadow?"

"The back up team you sent is still looking," Coiley said. "Last I heard, we found out there was a strong undertow and it's likely once the Shadow splashed down, he was swept into it."

"Well not much we can do about that now," Big Di said. "In the meantime, I want the three of you . . . . . or rather _four_ of you . . . . to go back to headquarters. Please inform Dr. Phelps I would like him to take charge of the agency until further notice."

"Aren't you coming, chief?" Multi asked.

"No," Big D said, gripping Fluey's hand a little tighter. "I'm going to stay here."

"All right, Big D," Coiley said, and he and Multi were about to leave. Phyllis lingered a bit, and then gave her purse to Multi.

"You boys go on ahead," she said to them. "I'll catch up."

"Sure," Multi said, nodding.

"Hang in there, old buddy," Coiley said to Fluey, even though he figured his team mate wouldn't hear him. Then the two Impossibles left.

Once they had left, Big D stood up, and let Phyllis sit down. She took Fluey's hand, and held it against her face, and just looked at her younger half-brother. Silent tears began falling from her eyes. Big D put his arm around his granddaughter's shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"Why don't you go home and rest?" he suggested. "I'll handle things here."

"I really should get back to the office," Phyllis said, sniffling a little. "There's probably a ton of stuff to do there, and . . . ."

"Multi's girlfriend can handle it," Big D said, firmly. "You'll never get any work done, anyway. I've already got one grandchild out of commission. The last thing I need is another one overworking herself and worrying herself sick at the same time."

"But . . . . but Daddy . . . . I mean, chief . . . . . I can handle work, I guess. I . . . . I mean, it'll keep my mind off of . . . ."

"No. I don't want you working. I want you to go home and rest up. Let me worry about Fluid. And that's an order!"

Phyllis just nodded. She gave Fluey's hand a little kiss, and rested it against his chest. Then, she hugged her grandfather, and left the room. Big D sat back down, and gripped Fluey's hand again.

"You're going to be all right, Fluid," he said. "At least . . . . . I hope you will."


	13. Watching and Waiting

Two weeks had passed, and Fluey wasn't making much progress. The doctors had been able to reduce his fever, but it was still in the high-grade category, and he was still unconscious.

The search for the Shadow wasn't getting very far, either. The agents kept Big D updated every day, via his own wrist communicator.

"We've got the Coast Guard involved, Big D," Agent Caufield said, calling in from the island. "No trace yet. But we'll keep looking. How's Fluey doing?"

"Not so well, I'm afraid," Big D said. "He's about the same as he was when we brought him in."

"How long you think this is gonna take, chief? We need you back at HQ!"

"This from the man who instigated the strike in the first place."

Caufield said nothing more, and signed out. Big D sighed, and looked over at Fluey. It had been a long two weeks, and Big D had the feeling it wasn't going to be over for awhile. Not by a long shot.

Multi and Coiley had been spending as much time as they could at the hospital. There really wasn't much else they could do. Big D told Dr. Phelps not to put them (or FG for that matter) on any crucial assignments until he said so. They were too worried about Fluey to keep their minds on anything else.

"Have you been here for the whole two weeks, chief?" Coiley asked.

"I have," Big D said. "I'm not leaving him until he wakes up."

"But who knows how long that's going to take," Multi said.

"I'm aware of that," Big D said, squeezing Fluey's hand.

"You should see Danalleah," Coiley commented.

"Oh?" Big D asked, looking at the two boys.

"Yeah, Shawn said she's been crying herself to sleep every night since we got back," Multi said. "She's really a wreck. But she's doing her best at the agency. She's still coming in. She isn't getting much work done, but I don't blame her."

"Hmmm," Big D said. "I'll have to have a talk with that girl as soon as I'm able. She'll be in here to see Fluid eventually, I'm sure."

"I have to admit it, chief," Coiley said. "You sure can keep cool under pressure."

Big D said nothing. Sure, Coiley and Multi saw a rock hard, cool and collected exterior. But in reality, Big D was about ready to fall apart at the seams.

Another week went by, and there still was very little progress. Big D was still sitting in Fluey's hospital room, anxiously waiting for _any_thing to happen. The doctor was doing a routine examination on Fluey, and then turned to Big D.

"I'm afraid this is going slower than we anticipated," he said. "It's been three weeks, and there haven't been any changes."

"Give it time," Big D said. "I'm not going to give up on him."

"Mr. Dawson, your grandson is currently in critical condition here. He's completely comatose, we've had to put him on life support, it's been three weeks, and . . . . ."

"And I was in a similar position nearly a year ago myself, and I pulled through just fine, thank you very much, and so will he!"

"All right, Mr. Dawson. Have it your way."

And with that the doctor left. Big D glared at him, and then turned to Fluey.

"Do you hear that, boy?" he asked. "You'll pull through. If you're anything like me, child, you'll come out of this."

Big D gripped his grandson's hand tightly, hoping that Fluey would respond. But he didn't.

A few days went by, and nothing had changed. Big D was still sitting by Fluey's hospital bed. It looked like he hadn't moved from that spot since. He wasn't paying any attention to anything that went on outside the room, until someone cleared their throat in the doorway of the room. Big D looked up and saw Danalleah standing there, wringing her hands, looking a little nervous. She also looked like a shell of her former self. Her hair was disheveled, there were dark circles under her eyes, which were also red and swollen, and she had tear tracks running down her face.

"Well," Big D said, once he saw her. He stood up, and pulled out the chair he had been sitting in. "I was wondering how long it was going to be before you came."

"Ummm . . . ." Danalleah said, a little nervously, and she came closer into the room, a little. Big D got the gist right away. He had a pretty good feeling the sight of Fluey laying there hooked up to all sorts of machines was a little nerve wracking to the poor girl.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing toward the chair.

"No, I'm okay," Danalleah said. "I'm not going to be staying long. There's . . . . . umm . . . . a lot of work to do in the mail room, and . . . . ."

"Young lady, if you think I'm going to believe that, you've got another think coming. Come here and sit down."

Danalleah didn't say anything, but she _did_ come into the room, and sat down. The only thing that could be heard was the hum of the machines, and the beeping of the heart monitor. She just stared at Fluey, and began wringing her hands again.

"Agent Multi told me you've heard what's going on here," Big D said.

"Yes," Danalleah said, sniffling a little. "He and Coiley gave me your latest update. Mother heard the news as well. I heard she was celebrating."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised."

Things hit another lull. Danalleah just sat there, and tried not to cry. She was biting her lower lip so hard, Big D thought for a moment she was going to draw blood from it any second. He finally cleared his throat.

"I take it you haven't been getting much done at headquarters?" he asked.

"No, sir," Danalleah said, nervously. "It's just . . . . . I've been so worried about Fluey, and I can't keep my mind off what happened on the island, or what _could_ happen here . . . . . I haven't slept through the night in weeks. But . . . . . but I'll do better, chief, I promise! I'll pull myself together and get back to work and . . . . ."

"All right, all right, there's no need to get hysterical. I think I have a pretty good idea how much he means to you. And judging by what he and the other two have told me about some other incidences involving that mother of yours, you mean the world to him."

Danalleah didn't say anything. She just nodded, and a couple of tears trickled down her cheeks. Big D then left the room, figuring he'd give Danalleah some time alone with Fluey. Besides, he wanted to check in at headquarters and see if there was any news about the Shadow. Danalleah grabbed Fluey's hand, and pressed it against her face.

"Please, please Fluey, you've got to wake up," she begged. "You've just got to come back! We _need_ you. _I_ need you. I wish there was a magic spell I could use on you to bring you back to me, but there isn't. Please, Fluey, you've just _got_ to get well! I love you too much to lose you now!"

Danalleah stood up, brushed Fluey's bangs out of his face, bent down, and kissed his forehead. She would have kissed him on the lips, but she didn't want to remove the oxygen mask. Then she gently wrapped her arms around him, taking care not to accidently unplug anything, and snuggled against his chest. She could hear his heart beating, and that comforted her a little, but it wasn't enough to ease her worries. She sniffled a bit, and then began sobbing. Big D returned a moment later, and saw the scene. He walked over, and gently pulled her away from Fluey for the moment.

"All right, now, take it easy," he said. "Take a deep breath, and calm down."

Danalleah took a deep breath, but she found she just couldn't calm down. She buried her face in her hands and continued to cry her eyes out. Big D just sighed, pulled her into his arms, and let her cry on his shoulder. For one hour straight, Danalleah just cried. She felt like she couldn't stop crying. Finally, she managed to calm down. She felt like she didn't have any tears left. Her eyes were puffier than before, and her face was red an blotchy. She managed to take a couple of deep breaths. Big D led her over to the chair in the room, and sat her down.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to lose it like that. I . . . . ummm, I guess I'll get back to work now."

"Absolutely not," Big D said. "You are in no condition to work."

"But, but we're short handed in the mail room as it is," Danalleah protested. "With Shawn taking over as secretary, and all . . . ."

"And nothing. The mail can wait, and if worse comes to worse, I can put Coil and Multi on mail room duty. I'm certainly not going to put them out on assignment until Fluid has made a full recovery. What I want you to do is get some rest, and try not to worry too much. I'm giving you a direct order, and I expect it to be followed. And don't you dare disobey my orders, either, like Fluid has a habit of doing at times. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

Danalleah started to leave, taking one more glance at Fluey. Then she sighed, and turned to Big D.

"It's too bad you can't just order him to wake up," she said.

"If only it were that simple," Big D sighed. "But unfortunately, it isn't. The only thing we can do is wait."

Danalleah nodded, and then left the room. She couldn't stand to see Fluey like that any longer.

"Please wake up soon, Fluey," she said, softly, as she walked down the hall. "Please wake up soon!"

Days passed. Fluey was still about the same as ever. Big D was still sitting in the hospital room. Multi and Coiley were with him, just standing around, waiting and hoping for something to happen. As they were waiting, Phyllis entered the room, carrying a large shopping bag.

"Guys," she said. "Agent Caufield and the others returned to the office today."

"What's the news on the Shadow?" Big D asked.

"Well . . . . ." Phyllis said, and she started twirling her hair. Then she handed Big D the bag. Big D opened it, and pulled out a large black hat, and a black coat. Both were completely soaked.

"The Shadow's, no doubt," he said. "Did they find a body?"

"No," Phyllis said. Big D then pounded his fist against the bed and uttered a word Multi would never think of using in front of his three-year-old brother, or Coiley would use in front of his ten-year-old sister.

"What's wrong, chief?" Multi asked.

"If they didn't find a body that only means that scoundrel's still at large," Big D said. Then he began rubbing his eyes with his thumb and his index finger. He was exhausted, and he couldn't take this much more.

"Not necessarily," Phyllis said. "Besides, we took his boat."

"Yeah, even if he _did_ survive the fall," Coiley said, "that maroon is marooned on that island."

"Maybe so," Big D said. "But that character is tricky to the Nth power!"

"What do you want us to do about this, Big D?" Multi asked.

"Nothing," Big D replied, standing up. "Absolutely nothing. I know the Shadow, and his modus operandi. He won't try anything so soon. But just in case, I want an all points bulletin put out, and security guards posted here twenty-four seven. I'm not taking chances on the Shadow sneaking in here and either attempting to abduct Fluid, _or_, heaven forbid, unplugging one or more of the machines they have him hooked to."

"Yes sir," Phyllis said, nodding.

"Why don't you get some rest, chief?" Multi said. "You've done nothing but sit here for three weeks without any sleep."

"Not until he wakes up," Big D said, flatly.

And that was all there was to that. Nobody usually challenged Big D's decisions.

A few more days had gone by, and nothing had changed. Big D was an absolute wreck. The doctors had been telling him, since they weren't making any progress, to consider taking Fluey off life support. When Big D heard the suggestion, he jumped to his feet, and grabbed the doctor by his lapels.

"Are you out of your head?!" he shouted. "I absolutely refuse to allow _any_one to unplug _any _of these machines!"

"Mr. Dawson, it's been going on four weeks, and the boy just isn't improving!" the doctor shouted. "It's not very likely that he'll come out of this."

"I don't care what you say. He _will_ come out of this!"

"Mr. Dawson, please . . . . . I'm not saying you _should_ take him off life support. All I'm suggesting is that you think about it. The odds of him recovering are getting slimmer and slimmer each day."

"Now you listen to me, doctor. This boy is a fighter! I _know_ he'll come out of this, and he _will_ make a full recovery! He has never let me down before, and I know he'll not start now! I'll see to it personally that he recovers! Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I will _not_ allow _any_one to take him away from me!"

"Mr. Dawson, I realize you're having a difficult time accepting this, but if he doesn't wake up soon, and it looks to me that there is a very good chance that he _won't_. . . . ."

Before the doctor could go on, Big D punched him right in the jaw. The doctor stumbled backward and crashed to the floor. Phyllis had been standing in the doorway when she saw him punch the doctor.

"What was _that_ for?!" she shouted.

Big D didn't answer. He just began grumbling, and he stormed out of the room. Then he stormed down to the hospital cafeteria for some coffee. Once he got his coffee, he went outside to St. Mercy's designated smoking area. He needed a good smoke right about now. He took his pipe and a match out of his coat, lit his pipe, and sat down on a bench to do some serious thinking. The Shadow nearly succeeded in disabling the Secret Security Headquarters. Big D also knew he had made several mistakes in the way he handled the case, and it looked like his actions were going to cost him his grandson's life, a price he felt was far to high to pay.

"Who am I kidding?!" he shouted. "I can deny it all I want, but the doctor is right. He'll never come out of this. I might as well give them the okay to take him off life support!"

Big D let out a frustrated groan, and leaned over for a moment, gripping his hair with his hands.

"I give up," he sighed. "It's through. It's all over. I can't take it any longer. Maybe I should retire."

"You never struck me as the type to give up on anything," a voice said, suddenly. "Heck, I didn't think you even knew the meaning of the word quit!"

Big D looked up to see who was speaking to him, and he nearly had a heart attack. Standing before him was his own son, Jackson Davis Dawson. Big D was so startled, he dropped his pipe, and just stared at Jack, wide-eyed and slightly slack-jawed.

"How can you . . . . . how did you . . . . . where did you . . . ." Big D stammered (which was unusual for him). "Lack of sleep. That's what it is. Merely a figment of my imagination. Jackson's been dead for sixteen years. He simply can _not_ be standing there in front of me."

"I can and I am, Pops," Jack said. "Here I am, in the flesh! Well, actually, not in the flesh. I _am_ just a ghost, after all. And I came to see you because you need to see me."

"What?"

"See, normally only Fluey could see me, but under the circumstances, I had a talk with the Man Upstairs, and here I am."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Okay. It's like this. Thirteen years ago, the Man Upstairs assigned me to be the guardian angel of a little boy named Franky McAlister. At the time, I didn't know he was my kid. The Man Upstairs never told me that. I didn't find out he was my son until the Manikatti incident. And I sometimes pop in on you and Phyllis to see how you two are doing. And after this whole thing with the Shadow, I think you need a little pep talk. I can't let you quit the agency, Dad. You're too important to these agents. You're the best chief they ever had!"

"After failing to follow the procedures dealing with the Shadow, how can you even _think _I'm still capable of . . . ."

"The only reason you didn't follow the procedures was because Fluey's your grandson! If it had been any of the other agents, you'd have followed the standard agent MIA procedure. If you hadn't found out Fluey was your grandson, and he went MIA, you'd follow the procedure."

"If I hadn't found out he was my grandson, he'd never have been kidnapped in the first place. Jackson, I'm an old man. I've been with the agency for thirty-five years. I've been the chief for twenty years. I was never able to handle you, and it was a miracle the agency didn't fall apart at the seams in those twenty years!"

"It was because you're a rock, and I was a rebel! Look at yourself, Pops! Look what that Shadow's done to you! You _never_ used to put yourself down like this! You used to be so confident! Now look at you. You need to snap out of this! You're a great chief, and these agents _need_ you!"

"My mind is made up, Jackson. I'm too old to run the agency. Nobody there needs me."

"You may think that now. But I know one agent inside this hospital who needs you right now."

Big D didn't answer. He just sighed, and looked at his son, but he was gone. Big D then stood up, and went back inside the hospital. He didn't know why, but somehow, he knew he just had to get to Fluey's room. Once he reached the room, he found conditions hadn't changed. Big D walked over to the bed, and began stroking his grandson's hair.

"Please, Fluid," he said, softly. "Please . . . . . come back."

But Fluey didn't respond. Big D heaved a sigh, and sat down in the chair, taking Fluey's hand, and looked down at the floor. Suddenly, he heard a moan. He looked up, and noticed Fluey's eyelids twitching slightly. The dark-haired teenager let out another moan, and he turned his head toward the chief, and his eyes started to open.

"Fluid?" Big D asked. "Can you hear me?"

Fluey moaned, and opened his eyes about half way, and looked directly at the chief. Then, he smiled slowly, and held his grandfather's hand tightly.

"H-hi, chief," he said, weakly.

Big D didn't say anything. He just pulled his grandson into his arms, and held him close. He had never felt more relieved in his entire life.


	14. Finally

After Fluey finally woke up, Big D called in the doctors immediately, as well as calling Coiley, Multi, Phyllis, and the girls, who raced over as fast as they could. After some tests and examinations, the doctors decided to take Fluey off the life support machines, but they were still leaving him in intensive care for the time being. He still had pneumonia, and the doctors wanted to keep Fluey in the hospital until his fever went down to the moderate category. The minute the doctors were finished, Phyllis, the other two Impossibles, and the three girls arrived. Danalleah immediately raced into the room, and flung her arms around Fluey's neck, crying.

"Oh, Fluey, I'm so glad you woke up!" she shouted, and she began smothering him with kisses.

"Yeah, you really scared us for a minute," Multi said. "You've been in a coma for nearly six weeks now."

"Six weeks?" Fluey repeated, as Danalleah continued kissing him. "Hmm. Remind me to go into a coma more often!"

"Excuse me?" Big D asked, giving Fluey a look.

"I'm just kidding, Big D!" Fluey shouted.

"Don't ever do that," Big D said. "Your sister and I were extremely worried about you, young man!"

"I'm sorry, chief," Fluey said. "It's just that . . . . . wait a minute. Did you just say my sister?"

"I did," Big D replied.

"But . . . . but I don't have a sister . . . . ." Fluey said, a little confused.

"You do," Phyllis said. "See, we had another family secret revealed. Big D's my grandfather, not my father. He just said he was my father because when I was born, it was considered a social stigma to have a child out of wedlock, and the fact that Jack was only sixteen when I was born didn't help matters, either."

"Oh," Fluey said, not sure he understood the explanation. "Well . . . . . I guess that explains the huge age gap between you guys. Hey, what happened to the Shadow, anyway?"

"We're not sure," Big D said. "He went over the cliff, but we're not sure if he survived the fall or not."

"The search party found his clothes, but not a body," Shawn said. "So that only means he might be dead, or he might be alive."

"One thing's for sure, until a body is found, I won't believe he's dead," Big D replied. "And, if he _is_ still alive, I have no doubt he may try to go after either you, or Phyllis, again. But most likely, he'll come after you, Fluid."

"What makes you say that?" Fluey asked.

"You're not well," Big D went on. "It would be easier for him to capture you, due to the fact that you'll end up using up any strength you have struggling and attempting to fight back."

"That's why the chief's posted guards outside the door," Phyllis said.

"And until we positively identify the whereabouts of the Shadow," Big D continued, "I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you from him."

"I hate to interrupt," a doctor said, coming into the room. "But I suggest you all go now and let Franklin get some rest."

"Are you going to stay here again, chief?" Coiley asked.

"No, since he's off life support, I think it's time I head back and get some sleep," Big D said, patting Fluey's shoulder. "And I suggest you do the same, young man."

"Is that an order?" Fluey asked.

"Yes," Big D replied, tousling Fluey's hair a bit. Phyllis laughed, then leaned over, and gave Fluey's forehead a kiss.

"See you tomorrow, Fluey," she said. And with that, the group left. Fluey closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep. Upon leaving the room, Big D turned to the two agents on watch.

"I want to make this clear," he said to them. "I don't want _any_one, other than the doctors, nurses, myself, or anyone else that has been here today entering that room. Agents Phelps, Johnson, and Rogers are also permitted, but only after checking their identification. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the two agents shouted, saluting.

Big D nodded, and left the hospital. He was a little apprehensive leaving Fluey alone, just in case the Shadow _was_ still at large, but there _were_ two burly agents standing watch, anyway.

Around midnight, the doctor who had been handling the case was heading for the hospital parking lot, ready to call it a night. As he rounded a corner, a hand came out from the alley, clamped over the doctor's mouth, and pulled him into the shadows.

Moments later, the doctor stepped back out of the alley, and went back toward the hospital.

"Hello, doctor," a nurse said. "I thought you had left already."

"I forgot my keys," the doctor said, checking over a patient list. The nurse said nothing more, and the doctor went toward the elevator. Grabbing a nearby gurney, he began pushing it down the hallway toward ICU, and Fluey's room. He held out his identification for the guards to inspect.

"I want him moved to another room," the doctor explained. "He's well enough to be taken out of this section."

The guards nodded, and allowed the doctor to go into the room. Once inside, the doctor turned on the light so he could see what he was doing, and then closed the door.

"This isn't going to be easy," he said. He went straight for the metal stand connected to the IV going into Fluey's arm. He slowly began to remove the needle.

Fluey began stirring, wincing a bit at the sudden painful sensation in his hand. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes, only to find a doctor standing there, trying to remove the IV.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a little confused. The doctor finally got the tube out, and pulled a handkerchief and a bottle out of his coat.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, little one," the doctor said, pouring the contents of the bottle onto the handkerchief. Fluey immediately recognized the voice, and gasped.

"The Shadow!" he shouted. "Somebody hel--"

Before Fluey could finish the call for help, the Shadow pressed his handkerchief over Fluey's nose and mouth. Fluey struggled and tried to pull away before he could lose consciousness, but it was no use. He was out like a light in a matter of seconds. The Shadow laughed, and lifted Fluey onto the gurney. He was about to leave the room, when suddenly, he found himself face to face with Big D.

"Going somewhere, doctor?" he asked. He reached forward, and ripped the false beard and mustache off the alleged doctor, as well as the toupee he was wearing.

"I assume you must be the Shadow," he said.

"Drat you, Dawson!" the Shadow shouted. "How did you find out?!"

"Simple. I decided to come back here to keep an eye on Fluid myself. I came across an alley where I had found the doctor who had been managing this case there, bound and gagged, and I talked to the guards I had posted outside."

Before the Shadow could say anything more, Big D back flipped, and gave the Shadow a karate chop to the stomach, and a hard left cross to the jaw. The Shadow was unprepared for the attack, and he ended up stumbling backwards into the wall. But he wasn't licked yet. He grabbed a nearby tray of doctor's instruments and hurled it at Big D. Big D ducked, but managed to reach up and grab a syringe, filled with some kind of liquid. He took careful aim, and tossed it. The Shadow saw it coming, and he ducked.

"You missed, Dawson!" he laughed. Suddenly, he felt something jab him in the rear end, like a needle. He backed into the wall, which pushed down on the plunger, injecting the liquid into the Shadow's system. And, as luck would have it, the syringe happened to be filled with a sedative.

"Goodnight," the Shadow groaned, and he fell to the floor, flat on his face.

"The ol' Australian Boomerang throw works every time," Big D said, smugly, handcuffing the Shadow behind his back. Then he pulled the criminal to his feet, and handed him over to the two guards.

"Lock him up and throw away the key!" he shouted. "And put him some place where he _can't_ escape!"

"Yes sir!" the two guards shouted, saluting. Once they left, Big D walked over to the gurney, lifted Fluey off it, carried him back to the bed, and re-attached the IV. Fluey then slowly began coming to.

"Ooohh . . . . ." he moaned, looking up at the chief. "What . . . . . happened?"

"Take it easy, you're all right now," Big D said, stroking his grandson's hair. Fluey then remembered something, and sat up in bed so fast, he nearly yanked the IV tube out of his hand.

"The Shadow!" he shouted. "The . . . . the Shadow was in here and he . . . . ."

"I know, I know," Big D said, calmly, gently pushing Fluey back down into bed. He then wrung out a washcloth from a nearby basin of water and pressed it against Fluey's forehead. "It's been taken care of."

"It has? But . . . . but how did you know to come here, chief? I didn't get a chance to call for help before the Shadow chloroformed me."

"Well, ever since the Shadow made his first appearance weeks ago, I've turned into a bit of a mother hen. I found I couldn't relax, so I came back to check on you. And it's a good thing I did!"

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure."

"And with any luck, now that I've _finally_ captured him, we'll be able to put him away for good."

"Don't sweat it, chief. I'm ready, willing, and able to testify against him. One look at my shoulder, and they'll send him up the river."

Big D merely nodded, and pulled up a chair, prepared to face another all nighter if he had to. A couple of doctors came into the room to make sure everything was all right. One of them gave Fluey a sleeping pill to help him relax after everything that had happened that night. Slowly, he fell into a deep sleep. Big D just stroked his hair, happy to finally see things getting back to normal.

The End


End file.
